BY TANDZILE DLAMINI
MBABANE — Members of Parliament and youth representatives on 22 May 2026 presented solutions to accelerate malaria elimination during the closing session of a two day World Malaria Day advocacy engagement focused on strengthening leadership, accountability and community participation in the malaria response.
The engagement brought together lawmakers, health stakeholders and development partners to deliberate on challenges affecting malaria elimination efforts and develop practical recommendations for government and communities.
Presenting resolutions from the parliamentary group, Hhohho Regional Member of Parliament Tanele Magagula called for stronger parliamentary oversight in the fight against malaria, saying MPs must fully utilise their constitutional mandate to ensure accountability in the use of public health funds.
She said proper oversight was critical in ensuring that allocated resources were correctly utilised and directed towards effective malaria elimination programmes. Magagula further warned against over dependence on donor funding, saying externally funded programmes become vulnerable to shifting global priorities and sudden funding cuts.
“As MPs, we noted that when programmes rely heavily on external funding or donors, they become vulnerable to shifting global priorities and funding cuts,” she said. She referred to recent funding cuts by United States President Donald Trump, saying such developments exposed emaSwati to challenges linked to dependence on external support.
Magagula said sustainable malaria interventions must focus on domestic resource mobilisation, while government should increase national budget allocations towards malaria control programmes.
She also encouraged stronger collaboration with the private sector, particularly industries heavily affected by malaria, to co invest in community health facilities and prevention initiatives. On operational challenges, she said participants also discussed delays in fund disbursement, calling on the Ministry of Health to improve administrative systems to ensure rapid release of resources ahead of peak malaria transmission seasons.
Meanwhile, Somntongo Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Ministry of Health Portfolio Committee in the House of Assembly, Sandile Nxumalo said the country still faced a major challenge in achieving its malaria elimination target by 2028.
Nxumalo encouraged emaSwati to unite in the fight against malaria, saying eliminating the disease would allow government to redirect resources towards other growing health challenges such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension. “End malaria can free resources for other health challenges,” he said.
He concluded with a call for collective action, saying: “I believe we can, I believe we must end malaria.” The engagement formed part of activities marking World Malaria Day and focused on strengthening parliamentary leadership, youth participation and media engagement in advancing malaria elimination and improving public health service delivery in Eswatini.
#WorldMalariaDay #EndMalaria #MalariaElimination #ParliamentaryOversight #Accountability #EswatiniHealth #PublicHealth #EndMalariaBy2028 #HealthLeadership
(Courtesy Pic)
