Ehanire clarifies $200m loan request to tackle malaria scourge

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has clarified the reason behind the 200 million dollars loan request to combat malaria in the country.

According to the Minister, the loan was to serve as Nigeria’s counterpart fund to complement a global malaria action plan.

Ehanire made this clarification at the Bi-Weekly National Briefing on COVID-19, Cholera, Health Promotion and other related issues on Monday in Abuja.

“The main donors to this roll back malaria are three. The first is the U.S presidential malaria initiative which donated 295 million dollars and they are going to use that to cover 11 states.

“The global funds to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria provides about 400 dollars dollars for very high malaria burden in 13 states in the country to continue to roll back malaria, these are states which have no financial support for this programme.

“In order to have full coverage for our partners to release their funds, they need these 13 states to be covered on the condition that Nigeria will provide 200 million dollars for the 13 states for five years and this covers 208 LGAs, 3,536 PHCs and about million of the population,” he explained.

Read also: 2,000 Nigerians have died from COVID-19 since outbreak – Health Minister, Ehanire

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans kicked against a proposal by the FMOH to borrow 200million dollars under the Malaria Programme to buy mosquito nets in the 2022 budget.

The committee’s condemnation was in response to the Ministry of Health’s submission about its intention to borrow the amount for the purchase of mosquito nets for 13 vulnerable states.

The Minister had told the Committee that, “The project development was done by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of budget. The purpose is for Nigeria counterpart fund to complement a global malaria action plan”.

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