Socio-Cultural Factors Associated with Malaria Transmission and Prevention in Nigeria

This paper examined the sociocultural factors associated with the transmission and prevention of malaria infection in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the paper include to examine the prevalence of malaria infection in Nigeria, to identify the causes of malaria infection as well a look at the preventive measures of malaria infection in Nigeria. The paper utilizes secondary sources of data while Health Belief Model was adopted to buttress the paper. The findings revealed traditional believes, cultural values, religious believes, social norms, traditional birth practices, poverty, limited access to education, toilets and insecticides, overcrowding, sleeping habits, socioeconomic status among others as some of the sociocultural factors associated with transmission and prevention of malaria in Nigeria. It also revealed that Nigeria is the country with the highest number (26.6%) and the highest number of deaths (31% of global malaria deaths) in 2022. The paper equally revealed that malaria is an infectious disease caused by the plasmodium parasite and spread through bites of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. It finally unveiled that malaria can be prevented through environmental clean-up, sleeping under treated mosquito nets, mosquito screen, Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), prophylaxis treatment and the use of Mosquito repellents/coils among others. The paper concluded that although a large number of people are aware of the existence of malaria, its clinical impact is somewhat underrated, reasons not farfetched from cultural beliefs, values and practices, poverty and high illiteracy level of people which appear to have constituted a big barrier towards its prevention paving ways for its free transmission. Based on these findings, the paper recommended among others that there should be sensitization programmes organized to create awareness on the need to look at malaria infection beyond cultural values and traditional belief system especially in the rural areas. Monthly sanitation exercise should be re-instituted to provide residents opportunity to keep their surroundings clean as this approach will go a long way to destroying mosquito breeding sites.