By Blessing Odega
Malaria Consortium says it commenced the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention campaign in June, targeting 1,007,652 children under five (3 to 59 months) across Plateau’s 17 Local Government Areas to reduce malaria cases and deaths.
Dr Mashor Mbwas, State Project Manager of Malaria Consortium in Plateau, said this on Tuesday in Jos during a media parley with journalists organised to strengthen awareness and media support for the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign in Plateau.
Mbwas said the intervention, implemented in partnership with the Plateau Government, was designed to protect children under five from malaria during the peak transmission season.
The project manager added that studies by the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed SMC could prevent up to 75 per cent of malaria cases among eligible children.
He said the 2026 campaign, which commenced in June, would run till October across the state’s 17 Local Government Areas, with efforts focused on reaching underserved communities and reducing malaria-related illnesses and deaths among children.
According to him, the consortium would also integrate Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) activities in Pankshin, Kanke and Langtang North Local Government Areas (LGAs) to improve caregivers’ acceptance of the intervention and increase routine uptake of malaria prevention services.
He said the organisation remained committed to working closely with the state government and other partners to strengthen the health system and ensure more children were protected from malaria.
The state project manager said the programme had recorded steady progress in Plateau, with coverage of eligible children increasing consistently between 2021 and 2026.
He added that the intervention had contributed to fewer malaria cases among children during the peak transmission period, reduced hospital admissions and deaths, and a decline in malaria prevalence in the state from 21 per cent in 2018 to 18.8 per cent in 2021 and 2.8 per cent in 2025.
Mbwas said the implementation of the programme had also boosted the state and local economies through the engagement and payment of more than 11,000 personnel between March and December.
He described the media as a critical partner in malaria elimination efforts, saying journalists played an important role in disseminating accurate information and countering misinformation.
Mbwas further said that media helped in promoting caregivers’ compliance with SMC and other malaria prevention measures and in highlighting the successes and challenges of the programme.
The project manager urged media practitioners to sustain accurate and balanced reporting to mobilise community support, bridge information gaps at the grassroots, and strengthen collaboration among government, development partners and communities in the fight against malaria.
Similarly, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, Plateau Commissioner for Health, says the state has recorded a significant decline in malaria prevalence.
Baamlong said that based on the Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS), Plateau moved from 18.8 per cent prevalence in 2021 to 2.8 per cent prevalence rate in 2025, which showed a significant decline in malaria cases, especially among children aged 3 to 59 months.
“Data from NMIS shows a dramatic and unprecedented decline in malaria prevalence from 18.8 per cent in 2021 (NMIS) to 2.8 per cent in 2025 (NMIS),” he said.
The commissioner further said that Plateau, in 2024 and 2025, through the State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP) with support from Malaria Consortium, achieved 100 per cent coverage in its Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) ,implementation, which reached 1 million children aged 3-59 months old.
He said the prophylaxis was administered monthly from June to October during the peak of malaria transmission in over 12,000 communities across 787 catchment health facilities in the 325 wards of the state.
According to him, the act had led to a drastic decrease in the number of children who developed fever in our health facilities due to malaria disease.
Similarly, SMEP Programme Manager Kizito Ndak explained that the seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention administered to children under 5 years was aimed at reducing malaria cases among children 3 to 59 months old, especially during the rainy season when prevalence is highest.
“No child under five should die of malaria, as the SMEP, in collaboration with the Malaria Consortium, had prioritised prevention with the deployment of 12,083 community drug distributors across the 325 wards in the state to administer the medication from house to house,” he said. NAN
