By 2030, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (Odds), Benin aims to eliminate malaria. In order to be at this major event, the National Malaria Control Program (Pnlp) and its partners are working to reduce the thousands of cases recorded each year of this disease which still remains one of the main causes of infant mortality. . Despite the progress made over the last three years, the challenge remains great for the mobilized stakeholders who call for commitment from all.
“Malaria, a preventable and curable disease, continues to be a major public health problem due to its scale and its burden of morbidity and mortality within the population, despite the efforts and enormous investments made by the international community for its control and elimination. These remarks by the Minister of Health, Professor Benjamin Hounpkatin, made on the occasion of the celebration of World Malaria Day in Allada on April 24, 2024, demonstrate once again the additional efforts that remain to be made to succeed in ending from the borders of Benin this disease.
According to the 2023 health statistics yearbook, new cases of malaria in the general population represented 17% among adults and 39% among children under five (05) years old with a mortality rate of approximately 106 deaths for 100,000 children. A worrying picture that challenges public health despite the efforts made to eliminate it. However, according to international commitments, Benin, by 2030 and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aims to eliminate this scourge. Aware of the stakes, Benin continues to multiply strategies to strengthen the fight against this disease, with actions with high impact on the ground.
Among the bottlenecks that Benin faced was the mobilization of domestic resources. Because, according to the Integrated Strategic Plan oriented towards Elimination (PSNIE) of the National Council for the Fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Hepatitis, STIs and Epidemics (CNLS-TP) over the period 2020 to 2024, 130,595,864,000 FCFA must be mobilized for an effective fight. With the technical and financial partners who alone contribute more than 80% of the resources mobilized per year, there is a financing gap estimated at 33,150,937,000 FCFA, or 42% of the PSNIE budget over the three years. But, with demonstrated political will and renewed commitment from the government, this challenge was met. The contributory share of the national budget increased from an average over the last five years of one billion thirty-nine million nine hundred and one (1,039,901,000) CFA francs in 2022 to two billion five hundred million (2,500,000,000) CFA francs for the 2023 budget year. Proud of this increase which constitutes a major achievement and an example in the sub-region, the former National Coordinator of the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP), Dr Cyriaque Affoukou, did not hide his satisfaction at the announcement of the last increase recorded for the 2023 budget. “I am delighted with the exponential increase in the national budgetary contribution as part of the fight against malaria in Benin for the year 2023. This considerable progress is the result of efforts carried out jointly with technical and financial partners, parliamentarians, actors from civil society, the private sector, the media and community leaders,” he declared.
An unprecedented commitment from the private sector and committed CSOs
Apart from the resources mobilized by the government, Benin has benefited for about three years from a remarkable contribution from the private sector. Thanks to the “Zero Malaria, businesses get involved” initiative launched by Speak Up Africa, more than 70 private sector companies and three champion business leaders have decided to support efforts to mobilize endogenous resources.
Indeed, implemented in Benin since 2021 by Ecobanck in collaboration with the RBM partnership and Speak Up Africa, this initiative has made it possible to mobilize private sector companies in the fight against malaria in Africa with a view to its elimination by to 2030.
In total, nearly 70,000,0000 FCFA were mobilized to fund the fund set up. Welcoming this contribution, the former Coordinator of the Pnlp, Dr Achille Batonon, maintained that the fight against malaria is no longer just the business of actors in the health sector and partners. “This is the first time that we have had active and effective involvement of the private sector in the fight against malaria,” he insisted. He added that despite all the efforts made in the implementation of strategies in prevention, care, epidemiological and entomological surveillance, there are always gaps. In this, he maintains, the commitment of the private sector remains valuable in accelerating the achievement of the elimination objective.
Like the private sector, CSOs, which have been working alongside the government for several years, have also strengthened their contribution with the support of Speak Up Africa and other partners. Their commitment is reflected in concrete awareness-raising actions in communities promoting the commitment of community leaders, local elected officials and women’s groups. In addition, their actions also made it possible to engage school stakeholders through the establishment of anti-malaria school clubs. With several edifying results, the action of CSOs on the ground constitutes a real boost to the interventions of the Ministry of Health.
Staying the course for a malaria-free Benin by 2030
Despite the mobilization of all stakeholders and additional domestic resources, efforts remain to be made to achieve the objective of eliminating malaria by the deadline of 2030. As a whole, stakeholders maintain that it is necessary to maintain the acquired but above all strengthen them. For the pediatrician at the St Vincent de Paul polyclinic, Dr Roland Agossou, very committed to this perilous fight, if efforts are maintained and reinforced, the elimination of malaria by 2030 is possible. He underlines that “the fight against malaria in Benin requires a multi-sectoral approach, with strong involvement of the private sector which already has a huge impact in the fight, increased awareness among the population and everyone’s support for preventive measures”. He adds that “the more the private sector is involved in the fight, the more the objective of zero malaria by the year 2030 will be achieved”. However, the President of the Media and Health Platform, Juliette Mitonhoun, warns of the need to redouble efforts through strong involvement of the private sector. She calls for staying the course and working even harder to mobilize domestic resources. “It is together that we will achieve the goal of zero malaria by the year 2030,” she confides. For the surgeon at the Clinique les Grâces, Dr Johnson Philippe, “the eradication of malaria is a collective work”. For him, the success of this fight requires healthiness and respect for the malaria treatment protocol by the medical profession in accordance with the provisions of the new national community policy. “It is the individual who is at the heart of the eradication of malaria and this is 70%,” he points out before calling on populations to maintain their own living environment. He also urges all actors in the private sector to join the “Zero Malaria!” initiative. Companies are committed” so as not to let their guard down. It is at this price that Benin, like Cape Verde, Mauritius and Algeria, will be able to join the rank of these 3 countries certified free of malaria in the African region by the WHO.
Alain TOSSOUNON (Coll.)
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