Iran Press/Africa: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (26.8%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.3%), Uganda (5.1%) and Mozambique (4.2%).
In Nigeria, a country that becomes home to malaria and stands first when it comes to number of deaths, over 192,000 people lost their lives by malaria in 2023 only, something that continues to cause concern and panic in the most populous black nation on Earth as the prevalence in 2024 is surpassing the last year.
Government hospitals are congested with patients to the extent that in some hospitals, two to three patients are admitted in one bed.
In Bauchi, one of the states witnessing high rate of death by malaria, Iran Press correspondent visited the Women and Children Hospital and Specialist Hospital, some of the government facilities where poor people go for medication, and due to a shortage of hospital beds and overcrowding, more than one patient share one bed, while some are on the floor, and many are being discharged prematurely without full recovery.
In an exclusive interview with Iran Press at Women and Children Hospital, Fatima Muhammad laments the situation and urges the government to intervene:
"I came to this hospital with my two children who are infected with malaria. They need blood and we don't have money to buy. Even the bed, two to three patients share one. We need government to intervene. We are poor. Even to feed ourselves is a problem, let alone buying medicine. Please, we need government to help. No beds in this hospital."
Another woman who has a patient at Bauchi State Specialist Hospital, Khadija Adam expresses concern about how malaria is killing hundreds of thousands just in one year.
Also, the woman told Iran Press correspondent: "Actually, the situation is alarming. It was reported that last year, over 192,000 people died of malaria according to World Health Organization. But this year, the case is worse than last year. It's said that almost 200,000 people were killed by malaria. Therefore, the government should do the needful. The government should provide affordable medicine for the citizens in order to tackle this case of malaria".
Mrs. Naomi Samuel, a medical staff in the State Government's hospital talked to Iran Press in an exclusive interview about how they cope with the situation.
He said: "Honestly, it has not been easy for the health workers, especially we in the Specialist Hospital. The overflow of patients is high to the extent that you (a doctor) can see 30 to 40 patients. We even lack beds. The bed space is not enough. We cannot accommodate the patients, that is why sometimes we offer observation to the parents and give them drugs and send them home. There are some patients that need to be admitted for proper treatment but due to lack of bed capacity, we can't admit them. So, we just give them first management and ask them to go home for oral medications. The problem is almost everywhere and is much."
In December 2023, President Bola Ahmad Tinubu said his administration is prioritizing and improving Nigeria’s health sector through massive investments and an increased allocation of funds to the sector in the then-proposed 2024 budget but despite the promise, no positive achievement has been recorded yet.
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