Oyo State Government, through the Ministry of Health, has launched the 2024 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Program me (SMC) with the goal of achieving zero malaria prevalence in children under the age of five in the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi who inaugurated the programme at the Surulere Local Government Area, Oyo State, reiterated Governor Makinde’s administration’s commitment to significantly reducing malaria cases among children under five and pregnant women.
She explained that the SMC is an innovation put in place to reduce the malaria burden across different regions of the world, including Africa.
She said that SMC is in line with the Global Malaria Strategic Plan, which sets the target of reducing global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90% by the year 2030. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that continues to have a devastating impact on the health and livelihood of children around the world.
She encouraged all the community leaders to ensure that their children aged 3–59 months avail themselves of the opportunity to get these drugs.
According to her, “This occasion marks another significant milestone in our ongoing battle against malaria, a disease that continues to pose a serious threat to public health in our communities. Malaria has long been a challenge for us in Nigeria, particularly among our most vulnerable populations: children under five years of age and pregnant women.
‘The government’s commitment to eradicating this disease remains unwavering, and our strategies have continually evolved to meet this challenge head-on.
The SMC is an innovation put in place to reduce the malaria burden across different regions of the world, including Africa.
This is in line with the Global Malaria Strategic Plan, which sets the target of reducing global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90% by the year 2030. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that continues to have a devastating impact on the health and livelihood of children around the world. In 2023, the incidence of malaria was 21% in Oyo State, and the majority of the cases were among children under the age of 5 years. As a government, this is completely unacceptable to use; hence, our partnership and collaboration with Malaria Consortium in this respect.
“The SMC is given in only 6 LGAs (including Irepo, Olorunsogo, Ogbomoso North, Saki East, Saki West and Surulere) with the highest malaria burden in Oyo State.”
“The implementation commenced in 2022 with overall coverage of 99.8%, of which about 297,000 children were reached. Our data shows that the incidence of malaria in our children aged 3–59 months dropped from 72% to 57%.
“The Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention is given to children every month for five months.
“The drug is taken for three consecutive days each month. It is distributed from house to house by Community Drug Distributors. The drugs are being provided in collaboration with Malaria Consultum, the Implementing Partner.
“At this point, I would like to thank His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde for his continuous support in ensuring that health care is provided for all and sundry across the nooks and crannies of the state. You will also remember that in this OMITUNTUN 2.0, His Excellency has started providing free health services to our communities.
This is all in a bid to ensure health for all. The SPAQs that will be distributed are free, and they do not cure malaria but prevent Malaria. It doesn’t work alone; we must ensure that our children also sleep inside mosquito-treated nets; our environment should be cleaned and devoid of mosquito breeding sites.
Present at the flag-off ceremony were the PS, Dr. A.K. Ayinde, DPH, Dr. O.A Babatunde, Director of Secondary Health Care & Training, Dr. O.A Aremu, PHC-Coordinator of Surulere Local Government Health Authority, Mr. Solomon Ajadi, Malaria Consortium Team, Chairman of Surulere LGA and his team, traditional rulers and religious leaders.
