An indigenous pharmaceutical firm known as Geneith Pharmaceutical LTD has launched what it calls ” Geneith Health Competition” aimed at secondary and tertiary students, in a renewed effort to raise awareness and promote malaria prevention in Nigeria.
The initiative seeks to harness the passion, creativity, and influence of young people to drive change in their communities and help eliminate malaria — a disease that continues to claim lives across Africa.
Launching the initiative during an online news conference, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, described the youth-focused competition as a timely and strategic intervention in Nigeria’s ongoing battle against malaria.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, speaking through the Director of Public Health, Dr. Godwin Tandom, expressed concern that many African nations, including Nigeria, are still grappling with malaria eradication, despite decades of intervention efforts.
“Nigeria hosted the rollback malaria and just last year, the minister hosted another meeting which brought every the entire world in the medical field to Abuja and that was rethinking malaria in Nigeria”
“One of the nine agenda the minister mentioned was community involvement and it rings clearly in the objectives of the competition with the involvement of children and we should also know that malaria is not just an health issue, we look at it from the point of our failure, that is sickness but it is infrastructural problem, environmental problem and the consequences could be emotional, economic and several others” He said
Organiser of the Geneith General Health Competition, Mr. Emmanuel Umenwa, said the geneith health contest is not just an academic exercise, but part of a broader national campaign to reposition public health and make malaria elimination a top priority.
“We must reinvest in our public health infrastructure, if only to effectively confront a disease that claims lives every minute. This will involve ensuring that necessary resources – financial, human and technological – are strategically allocated to combat this preventable illness. It will also require investing in community health programs, enhancing access to medical care, and ensuring that sufficient funding is directed towards malaria prevention and treatment initiatives. But that is not all”.
According to Mr. Umenwa the battle against Malaria also demands reimagining. It is important that we Reimagine our approach to this challenge by embracing innovation and creativity especially in how we address it. Our aim therefore is to use the Geneith Health Competition to encourage young minds to think outside the box with a view to developing new ideas, concepts and strategies for Malaria prevention. This will involve leveraging technology, the social media, and community engagement to raise awareness and drive positive change. Our target is also to Reignite our passion for the battle against Malaria. This will involve rejuvenating our collective commitment to the cause, especially among our youths, who are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also the change-makers of today. By motivating them to take-action, we will be empowering them to become champions of public health, who will assist to spread the message of prevention and awareness in their communities.
He said “Having taken the above actions, we will also ensure that we Stay Committed to battle against Malaria, if only to see that it is completely defeated. By reinforcing our dedication through continuous engagement, collaboration, and advocacy, we will ensure that we maintain momentum in the battle until we achieve a malaria-free Nigeria.”
The team lead of CEOAfrica, Prince Cletus Ilobanafor, also highlighted the financial and educational incentives attached to the competition, noting that the initiative will not only reward creativity but empower young Nigerians to be public health champions.
He said” One billion Naira will be given away in the competition with the students who win will go away with over four hundred million Naira while over six billion Naira will go into gifts for the competition “. It is one of its kind in Africa towards making them to own fighting malaria through quiz on malaria and health.
With strong backing from stakeholders and partners, organisers are optimistic that the essay competition will leave a lasting footprint on public health advocacy and youth empowerment across the country.