The onset of the rainy season has pushed malaria test positivity in Oyo State to 42 per cent, up from 29 per cent recorded in April, the State Malaria Elimination Programme Manager, Mrs Foluke Adeyemo, has disclosed.
Adeyemo made this known while presenting the state’s second-quarter malaria performance indicators at the quarterly Oyo State Malaria Technical Working Group meeting.
She said the malaria test positivity rate based on rapid diagnostic tests rose from 29 per cent in April to 36 per cent in May and 42 per cent in June, coinciding with the rainy season, which is associated with increased mosquito breeding and malaria transmission.
Despite the increase, Adeyemo said the state maintained a 99 per cent treatment rate for confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases, with cases treated using artemisinin-based combination therapy in line with national guidelines.
She, however, expressed concern over some private health facilities that were not complying with recommended malaria testing and treatment protocols.
“Some private facilities are not compliant with testing and treatment of uncomplicated malaria with ACT,” she said, calling for stronger engagement with such facilities.
Adeyemo said Oyo achieved 100 per cent reporting and timely reporting in April and May, while June recorded 100 per cent timely reporting and a slight decline in overall reporting to 99 per cent.
On fever testing, she said malaria microscopy accounted for between 73.9 per cent and 95 per cent of testing during the quarter, while rapid diagnostic test utilisation ranged from 12 per cent to 15 per cent.
Adeyemo also reported progress in intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, with IPTp1 uptake ranging between 77 per cent and 89 per cent.
She said routine distribution of insecticide-treated nets, which began in November 2025, remained ongoing, with performance during the quarter ranging between 71 per cent and 74 per cent.
However, she identified inadequate documentation as a major challenge, explaining that services and commodities not captured on monthly summary forms could not be uploaded to the District Health Information System.
Dr Yemisi Ayandipo, representing the REACH Malaria Programme implemented by PATH and funded by the U.S. Department of State, reaffirmed the programme’s commitment to supporting malaria prevention and case management across Oyo State.
She emphasised the importance of the Technical Working Group in reviewing programme performance, identifying implementation gaps and making evidence-based decisions to improve malaria elimination efforts.
Ayandipo stressed the need to improve the quality and standardisation of maternal and reproductive health services, particularly antenatal care and malaria prevention during pregnancy. She also raised concerns about gaps in uncomplicated malaria management and urged healthcare providers to adhere to standard treatment guidelines.
Mr Stephen Uchechukwu, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with PATH’s REACH Malaria Programme, reported an overall decline in malaria cases when corresponding quarters were compared.
He said reported cases fell from about 177,000 to 142,000 in the first quarter, and from 263,216 to approximately 179,000 in the second quarter. Malaria-positive cases also declined from 63,688 to 50,851 in Q1 and from 124,432 to 89,842 in Q2.
Uchechukwu attributed the decline partly to intensified malaria prevention and control interventions but identified discrepancies between commodities distributed and those reportedly consumed at the facility level.
He called for improved reconciliation of commodity and service data and greater use of routine data to guide programme decisions.
Dr Motunrayo Fagbola, State Technical Malaria Lead, commended the state for improvements observed during recent health facility monitoring visits, particularly increased attention to malaria in pregnancy, stronger data validation and improved availability and affordability of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine through the Drug Revolving Fund.
She, however, identified persistent gaps in malaria case management, including clinical diagnosis despite available test results, poor adherence to treatment guidelines, inappropriate use of injectable artesunate and inadequate referral of severe malaria cases from primary health facilities.
Fagbola also raised concerns about poor case documentation, transcription errors and inconsistencies between patient case notes, registers and reported data.
She called for better deployment of trained malaria microscopists to high-volume facilities and stronger facility-level capacity building to improve the quality of malaria diagnosis and treatment across Oyo State.
