Nigeria’s GDP may hit $34bn with anti-malaria drive – Report
A report from Oxford Economics Africa showed that achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of a 90 per cent reduction in malaria incidence could boost the Gross Domestic Product of malaria-endemic African countries by $126.9bn between 2023 and 2030.
The report commissioned by Malaria No More UK stressed the urgent need to revitalise global efforts to eliminate malaria because this will not only save lives but also drive substantial economic growth.
To estimate the impact on trade, the OEA extrapolated the impact on GDP to international trade, considering the economic outlooks of countries over the time frame.
This process involved estimating how GDP’s growth translates into trade benefits, including both bilateral trade with select nations and trade with 13 ‘focus’ countries identified by their current malaria burden.
These 13 focus countries are the ten countries most affected by malaria and they include Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Mozambique, Angola, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, and Kenya.
The report revealed that achieving the set target for malaria reduction could significantly boost the GDP of the malaria-endemic countries by $142.7bn before 2030.
It further stated that in addition to boosting GDP for malaria-endemic countries, international trade stands to receive a substantial lift, with an estimated increase of $80.7bn between 2023 and 2030.
“This will also have global benefits by increasing international trade by $80.7bn over the same timeline, including direct trade benefits for G7 countries of $3.9bn in additional exports. This underscores the economic benefits of ending malaria, not just for affected endemic countries but for the whole global economy,” the report stated.
For Nigeria, the report said meeting the target could lead to a GDP boost of $34bn between 2023 and 2030 due to the size of the Nigerian economy and high malaria prevalence.
“Nigeria alone, which has by far the largest burden of malaria cases and deaths, could benefit from a GDP boost of nearly $34bn by 2030. Nigeria is followed by Kenya and Angola, with each country experiencing GDP gains of $9.4bn and $8.5bn, respectively.
“Tanzania could receive a boost to GDP of approximately $7.5bn and DRC could see a substantial GDP increase of $4.9bn over the 2023 to 2030 period,” the report noted.
