Source: Agency Report

Malaria Carrier: Mosquito

The Nasarawa State Government has set an ambitious target to administer malaria prevention drugs to more than one million children under the age of five by 2025, as part of its intensified effort to eliminate the deadly disease.

This announcement was made by the Commissioner for Health, Gaza Gwamna, during a press briefing in Lafia, ahead of the fifth round of the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign.

Mass Coverage to Reach Over One Million Children

According to Mr Gwamna, the campaign will cover 1,037,785 children aged between 3 and 59 months across the 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state. These children will receive free antimalarial drugs as part of the state’s strategic preventive approach.

“With the support of Malaria Consortium and the World Health Organisation (WHO), we’ve reduced malaria prevalence from 60% in 1996 to 15% today,” he stated.

To support the rollout, the government has trained and deployed over 11,000 ad-hoc staff, including Community Drug Distributors, Town Announcers, Supervisors, and Health Workers.

Warning Against Self-Medication

Mr Gwamna also cautioned residents against self-medication, stressing that not all fevers are symptoms of malaria and encouraging proper testing before treatment.

“We are committed to eradicating malaria and will continue to invest in both preventive and curative health interventions,” he said.

Partnership and Commitment

The State Programme Manager for Malaria Consortium, Kassim Musa-Khalid, praised the Nasarawa government for its strong collaboration over the past four years. He reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting the 2025 campaign.