Malaria kills 300,000 Nigerians annually – UNICEF

 By Peter Duru

MAKURDI- The United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF, has said that of the  yearly 800,000 global deaths from malaria infection, about 300,000 are  Nigerians.

UNICEF added that over 97 per cent of the country’s  population are also at risk of the disease.

Chief of UNICEF Field ‘A’ Office, Enugu, Mr. Charles Nzuki, made this known while speaking with newsmen in Makurdi, Benue State.

Nzuki said that most of the victims were children below the age of five, pointing out that the country was responding to cases of infant  mortality by increasing appropriate malaria treatment for targeted  groups through the implementation of the Affordable Medicines for  Malaria, AMFM, and massive distribution of 63 million long lasting  insecticidal nets.

He said much still needed to be done to confront the challenges posed by the malaria scourge.

According to him, approximately 90 per cent of these deaths occur in  Africa where malaria accounts for about one out of every six of such  deaths.