Malaria Control Programme in Nigeria: uptake of prevention strategies - a systematic review

Malaria presents a colossal burden to Africa, including Nigeria. The objective of this study was to review relevant publications to identify specific malaria control strategies in Nigeria and to determine their level of uptake.

A Medline Entrez Pubmed search was conducted to identify studies from July 2013 to June 2018 investigating malaria control strategies. The search yielded 123 publications and twelve publications that met the inclusion criteria were systematically reviewed and results presented.

Five publications investigated the level of uptake of IPTp-SP and all reported low uptake of IPTp-SP. Five other publications investigated the uptake of LLINs, of which two reported good uptake. Two studies were on the uptake of mRDT or microscopy before Artemesinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and reported good uptake. Factors associated with poor uptake of malaria preventive strategies included a poorly-financed and poorly structured healthcare system, poor antenatal clinic visits, unavailability of the antimalaria drugs and nets, ignorance, poverty, cultural/religious belief and cost of mRDT and microscopy.

Though malaria control strategies are available in Nigeria, there was insufficient uptake of these preventive strategies. Awareness creation and education on the importance of preventive strategies and their efficient utilization will help reduce Nigeria's malaria burden.