Despite the various efforts from the government and development partners, Nigeria, like many African countries, continues to be heavily affected by malaria taking a large amount of the health budget. In addition to the direct health impact of malaria, there are also severe social and economic burdens on communities and the country as a whole, with the disease contributing to a loss of about US$3 billion in the form of treatment costs, prevention, loss of work time, and so on. Preventing malaria, therefore not only saves lives, but also frees up vital health resources to address other problems in the country.

Nigeria has made fighting malaria one of its top priorities and is increasing its own government spending to tackle the disease. However, the burden is so overwhelming that external support is still needed. The country’s malaria prevention strategic plan includes increasing the ownership and use of mosquito nets, the use of diagnostic tests for fever patients, and improving appropriate and timely treatment of malaria, among other priorities. While the country has made significant strides in ending malaria by treating it at government health facilities and distributing mosquito nets, a lot still needs to be done.

Through advocacy with church and community leaders and education programmes in the community, we continue to impact lives. Our outreach programme ensures that people in poor areas of Abuja and surrounding towns receive access to prevention and treatment clinics, free of charge. In carrying out medical outreaches and mosquito net distribution, we have established trustworthy relationships with the various communities. This in turn has provided us with greater opportunities for spreading the Gospel, making known in word and deed the grace and compassion of our God. We believe that preaching the Good News must be grounded in building relationships with our target communities and being hospitable to people, not in prosperity deception, forcing, or overwhelming people.