Fight Against Malaria: Advocacy For Improved Response

In the face of malaria threats, that cause deaths and thus negatively impact human capital in the county, legislators, meeting in a special malaria awareness day at the National Assembly are advocating the need for increased domestic allocation in the fight against the tropical disease. Deliberations that took place on June 16, 2026 under the theme, “Mobilising parliamentary action to strengthen the malaria response and ensure the sustainability of high intervention impact,” were chaired on behalf of the House Speaker by the President of the Parliamentary Caucus on Health Financing in Cameroon, Hon. Njume Peter. It brought together various actors in the public and private sectors with the objective of championing domestic resource mobilisation to combat diseases like malaria and non-communicable diseases especially as international donor funding decreases. In his opening statement, the presiding officer said malaria is not only a health challenge but a social threat. “Fighting malaria is an investment. Let us all come together and see that we gather resources to fight against malaria. That is why we are asking all the Ministers to allocate at least one per cent of their annual budgets in the fight against malaria. It will significantly help in reducing deaths linked to the tropical disease and why not eliminating it in the society,” he said. While acknowledging efforts in the last three years in the fight against malaria, especially by government, he said lawmakers have a particular role to play in the process. To him, besides their statutory roles of voting laws and controlling government action, Hon. Njume Peter said they need to advocate for increased financial allocation given that they (legislators) are closer to the population and better understand the realities of malaria in their constituents. For the repr...