ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The study aimed to assess the uptake of malaria intervention services in Nigeria before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This study utilized secondary data collected in the COVID-19 Health Services Disruption Survey. The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, the number of insecticide-treated nets, visit to healthcare facilities, enrollment in malaria tests, and treatment for malaria. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0. The association between visit to healthcare facilities and sociodemographic characteristics was determined using chi-squared tests. Binary logistic regression tests were conducted, and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Among the 1985 respondents, 960 (48.4%) were aged ≤25 years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 485 (50.5%) people aged ≤25 years visited healthcare facilities (χ2=15.923, p≤0.001), while 385 (39.9%) persons aged ≤25 years visited healthcare facilities during the pandemic (χ2=15.53, p≤0.001). Among those with graduate/postgraduate education who visited healthcare facilities, 593 (45.9%) paid visits before the pandemic (χ2=7.33, p=0.026), while 445 (44.4%) paid visits during the pandemic (χ2=16.37, p≤0.001). Individuals aged 26–35 years had 21% less odds (AOR=0.79;95% CI: 0.65–0.97, p=0.021) of visiting healthcare facilities before the pandemic, and 23% less odds of visiting healthcare facilities during the pandemic (AOR=0.77;95% CI: 0.63–0.95, p=0.013). CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on visits to healthcare facilities for malarial treatment. To promote malaria intervention during the pandemic, malaria diagnosis should be linked with COVID-19 screening and testing. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.