The Society for Family Health, SFH, said nine Nigerians die every hour in Nigeria as a result of malaria.

This was also as it said 97 per cent of Nigerians suffer from the burden of malaria.

The Society’s Social and Behavioural Change Specialist, Sesugh Deborah Oryiman, disclosed this during a media orientation on integrated insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and Seasonal Malaria Chemo prevention (SMC) campaign in Kano.

Oryiman said during the campaign, it planned to distribute 7.7million treated nets and over 15m doses of SPAQ to children between age of 3-59 months in order to reduce the burden of malaria.

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According to her, “Malaria is the most common preventable public health problem in Nigeria, yet it takes a lethal toll on 97% of Nigerians, especially children under five years of age and pregnant women.

“Evidence has shown that Nigeria accounts for nearly 110million clinically diagnosed cases per year.

“An estimated 30% of child and 11% of maternal deaths each year are due to malaria.

“Nigeria accounts for a quarter ofthe malaria burden in the world.

“Two out of every 4 persons having malaria in West African sub-region live in Nigeria. One out of 5 deaths from malaria globally occur in Nigeria. Malaria kills 9 people every hour in Nigeria.

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“It is the commonest cause of absenteeism from schools, offices, farms, markets, etc, resulting to lower productivity.

“In addition to the overburden on health system it also exerts a huge social and economic burden on our communities and country, retarding the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 40% annually and billions of Naira is lost to malaria annually in form of treatment cost, prevention and loss of man hours. Despite the increase in malaria incidence, there was a notable decrease in malaria prevalence as determined by microscopy, dropping from 27% in 2015 to 22% in 2021.

“Malaria can be prevented by not allowing mosquito to bite us. One assured way (and most cost effective) is to sleep inside a net consistently,” she said.

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The Society’s Social and Behavioral Change Specialist, Oryiman maintained the distribution of treated nets were to focus on Local Government areas and wards most vulnerable and with prevalent cases of malaria while the SPAQ dosage will be carried out across the 44 LGAs of the state.

On his part, the Kano State Malaria Elimination Programme Manager, SMEPM, Babangida Gwarzo said it has engaged over 27,000 Community Mobilizers and Distributors, CMDs to go house to house to give the SPAQ dosage to the children and targets to reach over 3 million children as well as give the caregiver token for collection of the treated nets.

He however, appealed to caregivers to avail their wards for the dosage to reduce the burden of malaria in the state, especially during the rainy season.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has forecasted rainy and thundery weather conditions across the country from Monday to Wednesday, warning of possible flash floods in some areas.

NiMet’s weather outlook, released on Sunday in Abuja, predicted thunderstorms with moderate rainfall on Monday morning over parts of Jigawa, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe, and Katsina States in the northern region.

“The remaining parts of the region are expected to experience sunny conditions with patches of cloud.

“Thunderstorms with moderate rain are expected during the afternoon or evening hours over parts of Jigawa, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe, Katsina, Kebbi, Adamawa, and Taraba States,” the agency stated.

“However, there are chances of flash floods occurring over parts of Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, and Kano States during the forecast period.”

It said in the central region, cloudy skies are anticipated in the morning, with light to moderate rainfall expected in parts of Niger, Benue, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Plateau, and Nasarawa States.

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“Later in the day, rains are expected in Plateau, Nasarawa, FCT, Kogi, Benue, and Niger States.”

NiMet also noted a high risk of flash flooding in parts of Plateau State.

For the southern region, cloudy skies would be expected in the morning, with light to moderate rainfall predicted in parts of Ondo, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom States later in the day.

On Tuesday, sunny skies with patches of clouds would be expected over the northern region.

The agency said thunderstorms with moderate rain were anticipated in the morning over parts of Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, and Kano States.

According to NiMet, later in the day, thunderstorms and rain are forecast over Adamawa, Taraba, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kebbi States.

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“In the central region, light to moderate morning rain is expected over Niger, Benue, FCT, Kogi, Plateau, and Nasarawa States, with moderate rainfall anticipated in Plateau, Niger, FCT, Kwara, Kogi, and Nasarawa later in the day.

“Over the southern region, cloudy skies are forecast in the morning, with a chance of rain in parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

“In the afternoon and evening, moderate rainfall is expected across Abia, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa States.”

On Wednesday, the northern region would be expected to see sunny skies with patches of clouds.

“Morning thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over Kaduna, Kebbi, Taraba, Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, and Katsina States.

“Thunderstorms with moderate rainfall are expected later in the day in Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, and Kebbi States.

“The central region will experience cloudy skies with chances of morning thunderstorms and rain in Plateau, Niger, FCT, and Nasarawa States. Moderate rainfall is expected later in the afternoon and evening in the FCT, Plateau, Niger, Benue, and Nasarawa States.”

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According to NiMet, in the southern region, morning rains are forecast in Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Cross River States, with cloudy skies expected elsewhere.

“During the afternoon and evening, moderate to heavy rains are likely across Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom States.”

NiMet warned that states at risk of flash floods should activate emergency response systems.

It advised the public to avoid driving during heavy rains, ensure vulnerable individuals dress warmly due to low night-time temperatures, and take precautions against strong winds that might precede thunderstorms.

“Ensure that loose objects are fastened to prevent damage. Disconnect electrical appliances during storms and avoid sheltering under tall trees,” the agency advised.

NiMet also urged airline operators to obtain airport-specific weather reports (flight documentation) from its offices for effective planning.

Residents were encouraged to stay informed through regular weather updates available on the agency’s website: www.nimet.gov.ng.

Consistent decline in domestic passenger traffic is creating anxiety among operators in the country’s air transport sector, with many warning that the recently signed Tax Reform Acts could worsen the situation by 2026.

This came on the heels of a disclosure by Acting Managing Director of Ibom Air, Mr George Uriesi, that domestic passenger traffic between January and July 2025 had dropped by 27 per cent, compared to the same period in 2024.

Given that domestic throughput in 2022 was 16,172,433, which dropped to 15,685,272 in 2023 and 11,549,443 in 2024, operators are worried that the harsh economy and the Tax Reform Acts, which would reintroduce the Value Add­ ed Tax, VAT, on ticket sales in 2026, could compound the situation.

On June 26, 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four Tax Reform Bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act, NTA, The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, NTAA, Nigeria Revenue Service Act, NRSA, and the Joint Revenue Board Act, JRBA, to take effect on January 1, 2026.

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In separate conversations with Vanguard, the operators, however, said reducing fares through promos and cutting down on the multiple taxes which affect the price of tickets were some of the methods through which the market could be stimulated.

Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, said: “Airlines, the aviation industry and the federal government can do something to reverse the situation (decline in passenger load).

‘’First is the general economy of the country that has slowed down. But I believe that with the recent increase in economic activities, business travel will increase.

“For leisure travel and tourism that are declining, it is because the price of tickets has made it a bit difficult for passengers to travel. When they see that it is not a must travel, they decide not to travel.

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“But we need to see how we can organically stimulate the market within the space of aviation and the airlines’ ability. How can we do that? Reducing fares through promos. Most importantly, we need to look at the taxes.

“Aviation fuel is fixed, but the multiple taxes contribute a lot to ticket prices. With the recent Tax Reform Acts, which reintroduced VAT, which is 7.5 per cent on ticket sales, it means that from January 2026, there will be a 7.5 per cent increase on the tickets. This will also increase the price of tickets and reduce the number of passengers flying.”

On his part, a Trustee member of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, Roland Iyayi, fingered the state of the economy as a major reason for the persistent decline in passenger numbers.

He said: “If the economy is buoyant, there will be enough travel, mobility will increase and there will be traffic.

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‘’Disposable income, which is also affected by the economy, has also reduced. Inflation has eaten deep into the disposable income of many. Air travel has become a victim of the high level of inflation which we currently have in the country.”

He, however, warned that if taxes were increased on air transportation due to the Tax Reform Acts, airlines would have no choice but to transmit it to customers.

He said: “Invariably, what that does is reduce the number of people who can travel. For every increase in tax, demand is suppressed.”