Malaria Preventive Effort has Begun in Adamawa

As Adamawa State opens the first cycle of round two of the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) program, almost one million children under the age of five will receive free malaria prevention therapy.

A four-day campaign on Malaria in Adamawa has been coordinated by the state ministry of health in partnership with the state healthcare development agency, the World Health Organization (WHO), SFH, and UNICEF.

The goal of the program is to cut the rate of malaria-related illness and mortality to the bare minimum.

The acting state coordinator for WHO, Pharmacist Sani Halidu, spoke out during the flag-off, noting that over 76 percent of Nigerians live in places where malaria is easily transmitted.

During his speech, he urged parents to remain attentive and ensure that all of their children received the SMC to protect them from the deadly disease.

The Yola South local government Chairman, Engr Hamidu Muhammad, who was represented by the deputy chairman, Nathaniel Pagail, expressed his gratitude to the ministry of health and development partners for the gesture aimed at saving the lives of the most vulnerable people in the community.

Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha, Lamido of Adamawa, also spoke, saying that the generosity could not have come at a better time because malaria is a fatal disease.

Malaria is a terrible disease that has plagued Nigeria and Africa for a long time, according to Lamido, who was represented by the district head of Yola and Cika Soron Adamawa, Alhaji Ahmed Mustafa Muhammad.

He asked parents, particularly women, to help the fight by ensuring that all of their children take the SMC between the ages of 3 and 59 months, as prevention is better than cure.

Celina Laori, a representative of the Society for Family Health (SFH), also spoke, urging women to make their children available during the exercise, warning that malaria is a deadly disease.