Self medication with antimalarial drugs is one of the commonest forms of self medication in Nigeria. Malaria is a risk for 97% of Nigeria's population. The remaining 3% of the population live in the malaria free highlands. There are an estimated 100 million malaria cases with over 300,000 deaths per year in Nigeria. A major concern of the indiscriminate consumption of Malaria medications is counterfeiting. In 2011, 64% of antimalarial medicines circulating in Nigeria were reported to be substandard according a study published in the lancet.

A new study published in Texila American University International Journal of Public Health, revealed that a whopping 71.49% of participants purchasing antimalarial medicines in drug stores for self-medication had no Malaria parasite antigen in their blood stream. The study which was conducted in Nigeria was supervised by a team led by the Executive Director Public Health Nigeria, Oche Joseph Otorkpa a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health UK.

The study recommended that policy makers in the public health sector take a second look at self-medication in malaria treatment with a view to providing frameworks, guidelines or laws to further stream line the practice and sales of malaria drugs for self- medication. They further recommended public sensitization on the financial loss, health hazards and clinical complications associated with self-medication practices as well as increased availability of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits, hinting on the possibility of self-testing with RDT as a pre requisite for purchase of antimalarial medications in the near future.
It could be recalled that on April 25, 2000 African heads of states met in Abuja, to express commitment to the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative having recognized the public health and economic burden the disease has placed on the continent as well as the barrier it constitutes to development and poverty alleviation.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/07/71-nigerians-have-no-malaria-parasite-antigen-wasting-money-on-drugs-new-study-reveals/

See this people.. Nigeria it's self Na big malaria and headaches

In Nigeria, the solution for everything is malaria drugs. Even if you break your leg, malaria drugs go dey among your treatment.

Nah normal thing for 9ja

Totally agree.

Nigerians suffer from stress. That's a precursor to several other illnesses. High cholesterol can mimic malaria sef

And 79% of Nigerians dunno if they have or not because they don't have a doctor

Where are the malaria free highlands in Nigeria? We should build a mega city there.

Ok oooo!

Which is why you get tested before taking any malaria pill.

stop wasting your money in antimalarial drugs

drinking moringa tea every money or at least 3 times a week prevents malaria....even replacing anti malaria drugs with moringa tea totally annuls malaria

trybut and thank me later

Self medication no doubt increases resistance to treatment and the one that is worse is when the malaria is resistant,they convert it to typhoid.

Yy

Nigerians and ignorance are like bread and butter.

What is the essence of this if it doesn't proffer solutions to curb malaria ?

Please someone should help me with the loan please I beg you guys this thoughts is eaten me up

I doubt the authenticity of this study.
I will like to see their methodology and sample size to arrive at this conclusion.

I can never forget what a malaria drug did to me it almost killed me. say no to self medication.

thorpido:
When the malaria is resistant

drink moringa tea...it's free .it cures malaria faster than Artesunate or lonart

Story; if I suspect any fever,na agbo and Ondo weed sure pass.
This mixture has been eliminating malaria since the time of Pontius Pilate

Oh dear!

I treat malaria every three month i don't wait to fall sick before i take it, hospitals and doctor no dey chop my money

skillz111:
I can never forget what a malaria drug did to me it almost killed me. say no to self medication.

Share your story bro?

OK. Some of them have HIV/aids but are still taking anti malaria. Better go and do test to know how strong your HIV is.

johnmattew:
stop wasting your money in antimalarial drugs

drinking moringa tea every money or at least 3 times a week prevents malaria....even replacing anti malaria drugs with moringa tea totally annuls malaria

trybut and thank me later

where do one get the moringa tea?

this will not work in Nigeria; the right thing is dis, if u feel symptoms of malaria, pay consultation fee, meet a doctor who will send for a lab test where u will still spend money, pay another consultation fee to meet d doctor another day , if u have malaria from d result, he will now write drugs for u to buy. an average Nigerian don't have that money and our labs are not equipped resulting in guess works making more than 85% of malaria test to be positive, if it's gonna always be positive, why waste money for test. people just prefer buying the drugs straight but we need to know d medical consequences; some will even add antibiotics in case it's typhoid+malaria or one of them , they r covered

Malaria can actually be eradicated in Nigeria but if they do that who will buy the multi billion dollar malaria drugs meant for Nigeria market.
Just like recently Americans discovered that Pfizer has discovered a cure for Alzheimer's disease but refused to release it to the public, they released just a mixture that sufferers will continue to use to feel good.

The cure for HIV is also around but HIV management is a cash cow for western NGOs and even the UN. If they provide the cure they lose travelling and income from anti retroviral drugs

NHIS former Executive Director stated that patients under the scheme are given malaria drugs even when the cause of their constant headache is simply dehydration, when the treatment should have been just an advise from the GP for them to drink more fluid and take a rest and they will be fine but they will be asked to undergo lab tests which will always show malaria parasite for ALL patients that took the lab test.

Wow

Truth, I treated malaria continually and was still feeling aches until I went for expensive malaria drug. Most drugs out there are fake.