Faith Nalubega, wey be mama of three pikin for one village for Uganda, don dey depend on free mosquito net and medicine from one clinic for her area to protect her children from malaria wahala.

Last month, when her youngest pikin, four-year-old Kato, get fever, she carry am go clinic as she dey always do for test and medicine. But when she reach there, she shock say the medicine shelf don empty. The staff tell her say stock don finish and dem no sabi when e go come back.

“I gatz borrow money to treat my pikin and buy medicine from private pharmacy. If to say e fever worse, I no sabi wetin I for do,” Faith yarn give TRT Afrika.

Dis kain wahala don turn normal for millions of people for Africa as foreign aid wey dem dey use fight malaria don dey reduce, and e dey affect all di progress wey dem don make since.

Since 2000, global investment don stop over two billion malaria cases and save nearly 13 million people wey for don die because of di disease. But now, as money no dey, free medicine don dey finish and prevention campaign don dey slow down.

Malaria na disease wey di Plasmodium falciparum parasite dey cause, and e dey spread through female Anopheles mosquito bite. E still dey worry Africa well well. Even with di vaccine and treatment wey dem don bring, 95% of di malaria cases for di world still dey happen for Africa. For 2023, malaria kill nearly 600,000 people, and na di poor and people for village dey suffer pass.

For Nigeria, malaria dey cause 60% of di people wey dey visit public hospital and clinic. Yusuf Ibrahim, wey get three pikin, dey fear malaria every year. “Last year, all my children sick at once,” he yarn. “I no fit pay for all their treatment. My youngest no survive.”

Even though insecticide-treated nets and di new RTS,S vaccine dey give hope, di problem na how to get enough money to make sure everybody fit get am. Di vaccine don start for Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, but di wahala na how to reach everybody.

Di recent cut for US and international aid don cause big gap for malaria program. Even for Nigeria, lawmakers don gatz add $200 million for health spending to try balance di matter.

Health worker Yasmin Abdalla talk say di clinic don dey ration care. “Before, we get enough nets and drugs. Now, we dey turn people back,” she talk. “Na di poorest families dey suffer pass.”

WHO quick assessment show say over half of di malaria-endemic countries dey face serious wahala. Distribution of insecticide-treated nets wey dey protect 425 million people don delay or cancel for 40% of di planned campaign. Seasonal malaria prevention for 58 million children don dey off track too.

Dr Daniel Ngamije, wey be WHO Global Malaria Programme director, warn say history fit repeat itself. “For 1969, when di world stop eradication effort, malaria come back strong. E take 30 years to recover. If we stop now, di wahala go big,” he talk for news release on April 11.

Covid-19 pandemic don teach everybody lesson, as service disruption for 2020 cause 14 million extra malaria cases and 47,000 more deaths every year. Now, with di funding cut, experts dey fear say di wahala fit worse pass before.

For Malawi, single mama Violet Phiri dey struggle to buy malaria medicine for her two children after di local healthcare centre run out of free medicine. “I dey sell vegetable to survive, but di medicine money pass wetin I dey make for one week,” she talk. “How we go take survive if e continue like dis?”

Health workers too dey feel di pressure. For Zambia, community health volunteer Byron Mwewa talk say dem no fit do door-to-door distribution of medicated nets again. “People dey beg us for help, but we no get anything to give,” he talk. “E dey break person heart.”

For one recent WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Group meeting, di assistant director-general, Dr Jerome Salomon, talk say “di funding problem no suppose scatter di global malaria plan.” Dr Dyann Wirth, wey be di group chair, warn say “na di poorest people go suffer if we fail.”

Some countries dey try. Nigeria emergency health funding and regional coordination dey give small hope. But experts talk say di solution na to get better health system and money wey go last long.

“We gatz make sure say nobody dey left behind,” Dr Michael Charles from RBM Partnership to End Malaria talk. “Dis fight never finish. If we no act quick, all di progress wey we don make go vanish.”

For mama like Faith, di matter serious well well. “Malaria kill my sister pikin last year,” she talk. “If di nets and medicine no come back, how many children we go lose again?”