Plateau State Reviews 2025 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Campaign, Targets Sustainability for 2026
The Plateau State Ministry of Health, through its State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP), on Monday held the 2025 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) End-of-Round Review Meeting at Crispan Hotels and Apartments, Jos. The session evaluated the implementation of the SMC campaign across all 17 local government areas, reviewing data, achievements, and challenges recorded between June and October 2025.
Presentations captured state malaria data from HMIS, supply chain management performance, administrative coverage from EOC and DIGIT, as well as discussions on successes, gaps, and recommendations for the next cycle.
Speaking at the event, SMEP Programme Manager NDAK Kizito explained that the SMC campaign — administered to children under five — is designed to drastically reduce malaria cases during the rainy season when transmission peaks.
“No child under five should die of malaria. With prevention as our priority, we deployed about 787 community drug distributors across the state’s 325 wards to administer the medication house-to-house,” Kizito said.
He revealed that Plateau State emerged first among all SMC-implementing states in Nigeria, attributing the achievement to strong political will, community engagement, and timely government counterpart funding. He also highlighted the unique involvement of the First Lady, Barr. Helen Manasseh Mutfwang, who served as the SMC Ambassador, alongside the wives of all 17 LGA chairmen as SMC advocates — a move that boosted awareness and parent participation.
Looking ahead to 2026, Kizito stressed the need for sustainability beyond donor support.
“We must prepare for a future where Malaria Consortium may no longer be on ground. Sustainability plans are key.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Bitrus Hosea, commended the programme’s exceptional performance, noting that Plateau State has maintained top ranking for two consecutive years.
“The strategies we adopted, including learning from best practices and improving implementation patterns, have clearly yielded results,” he said, urging stakeholders to sustain the momentum.
Other stakeholders also shared feedback. Rakiya Hassan Kadel, Malaria Focal Person for Wase LGA, expressed gratitude to the Malaria Consortium, noting significant reductions in anemia, convulsions, and severe malaria among children under five. She added that digitalisation in the past two years has improved data accuracy and payment processes.
Similarly, Rayi Lawrence Bitrus, Malaria Focal Person for Jos North, reported reduced malaria burden and improved data quality, while calling for government provision of laptops, more digital tools, and increased staffing to further enhance reporting and supervision.
The review meeting brought together senior officials from the State Ministry of Health, SMEP staff, the Director of Public Health, heads of PLASCHEMA and DMA, Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Board, Directors of Primary Healthcare from all 17 LGAs, Roll Back Malaria Managers, Malaria Consortium representatives, and other implementing partners.
The session concluded with firm commitments to strengthen supervision, enhance digital reporting, improve logistics, and sustain the gains achieved as Plateau State prepares for the 2026 SMC implementation round.
