Health
A report by the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) has called for a stronger role for the private sector in malaria prevention.
The report said that businesses had an opportunity to take a more visible leadership position in the fight against the disease.
The report was made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday
It found that none of the 300 respondents surveyed across 10 West African countries identified the private sector as the primary actor that should lead malaria prevention efforts.
About 67.7 per cent of respondents, however, said employers should play either a supportive or leading role in malaria prevention.
The report, titled “From Awareness to Action: Assessing Malaria Prevention Practices Across Workplaces and Communities in Africa” covered Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Benin and Togo.
It said 35.7 per cent of respondents preferred employers to play a supportive role, while 32 per cent wanted employers to take a leading role.
A further 32.3 per cent preferred employers to play a significant role in malaria prevention.
According to the report, the findings pointed to a “leadership vacancy” rather than a rejection of private-sector involvement.
It said the absence of the private sector from the list of primary leaders created an opportunity for businesses and private-sector organisations to establish a credible role through sustained and visible action.
The report said that malaria prevention required contributions from different sectors, with respondents placing primary responsibility on shared responsibility, government and communities.
It said 35.7 per cent of respondents identified shared responsibility as the preferred approach, while 33.3 per cent selected government and 31 per cent communities.
The report said the findings demonstrated that respondents did not necessarily expect businesses to replace government or community structures.
It said that they, rather, expected employers to contribute meaningfully within their areas of influence.
It said employers could use their workplaces, networks and resources to support malaria prevention and complement existing public health interventions.
The report further recommended that the private sector should move beyond occasional malaria-related activities and develop sustained interventions that could be integrated into organisational practices.
It said such an approach would allow businesses to demonstrate leadership while contributing to broader national and regional malaria-control priorities.
The report also urged CAMA and its members to use the findings to develop a coordinated private-sector positioning strategy across West Africa.
It said the absence of significant differences between Anglophone and Francophone respondents in their expectations of employers meant that a common sub-regional approach could be adopted.
The report said the private sector could strengthen its contribution by working with governments, communities, development partners and other stakeholders rather than operating independently.
It urged businesses to identify practical areas where they could contribute to malaria prevention and communicate their interventions consistently to employees and communities.
The report concluded that the private sector had not been excluded from the malaria leadership conversation.
It said that the survey pointed to an opportunity for businesses to respond to an existing expectation for greater employer involvement and establish themselves as credible partners in malaria prevention.
(NAN)
A.I
Aug. 25, 2026
Tags: CAMA Malaria control