By Usioma Jamoh

As Nigeria continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts are sounding the alarm over another looming danger, a possible resurgence of malaria.

Lubem Nathaniel Agbendeh, an epidemiology of infectious-disease researcher at BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, says the country risks losing hard-won progress if urgent steps are not taken to protect malaria control efforts from post-pandemic neglect. “COVID-19 forced many countries to divert manpower, funds, and logistics into emergency response,” Agbendeh told Tribune Health. “But malaria doesn’t wait. Every time we slow down prevention campaigns, we open the door for an explosion in new cases.”

Agbendeh, one of the authors of “Fighting COVID-19 at the Expense of Malaria in Africa: The Consequences and Policy Options” published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, explained that lockdowns, supply-chain disruptions, and overwhelmed hospitals during the pandemic set off a dangerous chain reaction across malaria-endemic regions. He noted that in several states, bed-net distribution and seasonal chemoprevention campaigns were suspended, while laboratory staff were reassigned to COVID-19 testing. “You can’t put malaria on hold,” he said. “It has its rhythm — the rainy season, the mosquito cycle. Once interventions stop, infection rates rise almost immediately.” According to modeling studies by the World Health Organization (WHO), a 75 per cent reduction in mosquito-net distribution and access to treatment could double malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa — pushing annual fatalities from around 400,000 to more than 760,000. “That’s not just data,” Agbendeh said quietly. “Those are children under five. Those are pregnant women who never received preventive treatment. Those are real lives.”

Drug Misuse and Resistance Risk
The researcher also warned about the misuse of antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine and artemisinin-based therapies during the COVID-19 era. “At one point, there was a global rush to repurpose antimalarials for COVID-19 treatment without sufficient evidence,” he explained. “The danger is that this overuse can trigger widespread drug resistance. Once that happens, our best malaria treatments stop working — and Africa will face a health crisis far worse than the one we are battling now.”

Integrating Health Responses
Agbendeh urged Nigeria to rethink how disease responses are structured so that pandemic efforts do not cripple other health priorities. He called for integrated health delivery — combining campaigns for malaria, vaccination, and pandemic control under one umbrella. “When people come for COVID-19 vaccines or food relief,” he said, “they should also receive malaria nets, preventive medication, or health-education materials. That way, we save resources and protect people more efficiently.” He also advised the government not to divert malaria funding to other emergency budgets. “Cutting malaria funding now is like leaving the door open for an old enemy,” he cautioned. “We cannot build a strong health system by weakening another part of it.”

Strengthening Local Vaccine Capacity
As an early-career vaccine researcher on infectious diseases at the University of South Florida, USA, he emphasized the importance of developing local vaccine and diagnostic manufacturing. “The pandemic showed how dependent we are on global supply chains,” he noted. “If Nigeria had its own vaccine and testing infrastructure, we wouldn’t have faced such severe delays. The same system that produced COVID-19 vaccines should now accelerate malaria vaccine access, especially the RTS,S pilot that has shown promise in Ghana and Kenya.”
He also highlighted the need to protect and support community health workers. “During lockdowns, many rural areas lost access to basic malaria services,” he said. “If we train and equip health workers with protective gear, they can continue distributing nets, testing fevers, and saving lives even in emergencies.”

Public Awareness and Policy Commitment
Agbendeh urged the public not to confuse malaria symptoms with those of COVID-19. “When people with fever avoid clinics because they fear stigma or isolation, they die of treatable diseases at home,” he explained. “Every fever should be tested for malaria first — that message must be loud and clear.” Reflecting on lessons from the pandemic, Agbendeh said the crisis has also shown what is possible when governments act decisively. “The world proved during COVID-19 that when we mobilize political will and funding, we can develop vaccines in record time,” he said. “That same urgency should drive malaria elimination. We have the knowledge. We have the tools. What’s missing is the consistent commitment.”

He concluded with a reminder that the fight against malaria must not fade from view: “COVID-19 will pass, but malaria has been with us for centuries. If we allow the pandemic to derail our progress, we’ll be counting malaria deaths long after the coronavirus is gone.”