The Kwara State Government has commenced the 2025 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign aimed at administering preventive drugs to no fewer than 700,000 children across the state.
Accroding to a statement on Wednesday by Saad Hamdalat, Press Secretary of the Ministry, the campaign was flagged off earlier in the week by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, at the Children’s Specialist Hospital, Centre Igboro, Ilorin.
She said the effort targets children aged 3 to 59 months in at least 11 Local Government Areas most prone to malaria outbreaks.
According to her, the distribution of the malaria preventive drugs is part of a coordinated strategy by the state government to reduce the burden of malaria among vulnerable groups and eliminate the disease entirely from the state.
Dr. El-Imam explained that the programme is being executed in partnership with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and the Global Fund, noting that Kwara State has met all its counterpart funding obligations.
She described malaria as a serious threat to public health, particularly among children and pregnant women, and stressed that the state is determined to curb its devastating impact through community-driven interventions.
The Commissioner added that health workers and trained volunteers have been mobilised to deliver the drugs through house-to-house visits, ensuring that each eligible child receives the correct dosage during the four-month campaign period.
She urged parents, caregivers, and community leaders to support the initiative by presenting their children for the medication and embracing complementary preventive measures like insecticide-treated mosquito nets and environmental sanitation.
Chairman of Ilorin South Local Government, Hon. Nuhu Majeed Podo, also pledged the support of local councils and encouraged residents to cooperate with health officials throughout the campaign.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Taoheed Abdullahi, expressed gratitude to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for prioritising child health, saying the government’s investment is yielding positive results in the health sector.
Also speaking, a representative of NMEP, Mrs. Eunice Akinyemi, lauded the state’s commitment to malaria control and called on pregnant women to take advantage of antenatal care services and adhere strictly to malaria prevention protocols.
