MALARIA CRISIS: AAUA DON URGES GOVT TO FUND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

A Professor of Theoretical Physics at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Dele Abajingin, has challenged Nigeria to rethink its approach to malaria control, advocating a physics-driven therapeutic model as a viable alternative to drug-based treatment.

Delivering the university’s 51st Inaugural Lecture, titled “A Low-Value Alternating Electromagnetic Field for Malaria Therapy: A New Dance Step to the Same Old Drummer”, Prof. Abajingin argued that decades of relying solely on drugs and conventional prevention have failed to eliminate the disease, which continues to claim over a million lives annually and remains stubbornly endemic in many regions.

He said growing drug resistance, adulterated medicines, and persistent complications such as anaemia and organ damage show that traditional methods are no longer sufficient. According to him, malaria parasites have continued to outsmart existing therapies, leaving communities vulnerable and overburdened.

The physicist unveiled findings from his research on the use of oscillating magnetic fields in disrupting the malaria parasite’s survival mechanism. His experiments, conducted with a Helmholtz coil, demonstrated that electromagnetic exposure could reverse haemozoin—the substance the parasite creates to protect itself—back into hemes, a more toxic state for the parasite. This process, he said, led to lower parasite density and improved red blood cell levels.

He projected that future applications of the therapy could take the form of a wearable biomedical device, which he called the Helmholtz Jacket, designed as a non-pharmaceutical aid in malaria treatment.

Prof. Abajingin stressed that Nigeria must expand its malaria response beyond drugs and bed nets, by investing in cutting-edge research infrastructure, biomedical engineering collaborations, regulatory frameworks, and innovation-driven laboratories.

He further charged universities to establish departments of Applied Electronics to produce graduates capable of developing and managing such emerging technologies. Nigeria’s young scientists, engineers and health innovators, he said, must be empowered to build homegrown solutions rather than depend on imported technologies.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, described inaugural lectures as platforms for academics to showcase decades of scholarly contributions. He commended Prof. Abajingin for his intellectual rigor and dedication to advancing knowledge within and beyond the university community.