Despite the high prevalence rate of malaria among children in Nigeria, more than 34 percent eligible children in the Federal Capital Territory were not captured in the 2022 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Campaign.
According to the Public Health Department of the FCTA, only about 66percent eligible children were captured in the 2022 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention, SMC, drug distribution in the FCT.
This figure is below the World Health Organisation, WHO, guidelines for Malaria 2021, which recommends at least 80 percent administration of anti-malarial to reduce the disease burden in young children.
The WHO disclosed in 2022 that no fewer than 602,000 people died of malaria in Nigeria and other African countries in 2021.
The Director, FCT Public Health, Dr Saddiq Abdulrahman, blamed the low coverage rate to limited access and non-compliance of some parents in the territory.
Saddiq, while speaking at the flag-off of SMC 2023 campaign for Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, however, assured that the 2023 Malaria campaign has been well-thought out to tackle all the identified shortcomings of the last years.
The director, who was represented by the Head of Health Promotion, Hauwa Ibrahim, stated that, “SMC commenced in the FCT in 2022, and a low coverage of 66percent of eligible children was recorded, against the WHO recommendation of at least 80percent.
“This was largely due to the limited reach( denial of access of the SMC team to some quarters and places; like barracks, gated estates, markets, etc) and non-compliance of some parents.“
Abdulrahman, however, assured that the 2023 SMC drug distribution was designed to ensure comprehensive coverage of all eligible children, especially in the rural communities.
According to the director, the FCTA was optimistic that a total of 914, 993 eligible children in the territory will be reached with anti-malaria medicines in the 2023 campaign.
He added that with support from the Malaria Consortium, MC, Nigeria, 9,000 persons that live in different Abuja communities will serve as frontline implementers, who are expected to drive the process.
“To ensure the successful implementation of the Seasonal malaria Chemo-prevention, SMC, the FCTA Department of Public Health with support from Malaria Consortium has engaged about 9,000 people who live in different host communities as frontline implementers, who are expected to reach 914, 993 eligible children in the FCT with the anti -malaria medicines,” he disclosed.
Officials of the department, representative of Malaria Consortium and other stakeholders, said malaria parasite has remained endemic in many rural areas of the territory.
Meanwhile, Modupe Adeyinka, Director of Primary Healthcare in AMAC, who officially flagged off the campaign, said the team has been well-trained to reach even the hard to reach areas.
Adeyinka also urged all stakeholders to help mobilise support for the acceptance of the anti-malaria drugs in rural communities.
In her words, “We solicit the support of the media, community, religious leaders and other stakeholders to support awareness creation about SMC in communities, churches and mosque.
“We also call for social mobilization to increasing acceptance of the anti-malaria drugs.”
Also, Senior Health Education Officers, Mary Caleb, added that the media was very critical in the fight against malaria, due to the important role it plays in information dissemination.
Caleb urged media professionals to partner with the Public Health Department and other stakeholders in eradicating the menace.
Perennial malaria chemoprevention, PMC, is the administration of anti-malarial to children at the highest risk of malaria at specific ages throughout the year.
The intervention aims to provide protection from malaria disease while allowing for some acquisition of natural immunity.
In 2010, the WHO recommended three doses of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine to be administered at ten weeks, fourteen weeks, and nine months of age, and referred to the intervention as intermittent preventive treatment in infants, IPTi.
However, in 2022, the global body updated its guidelines for IPTi, removing the fixed number of doses at specific ages and relabeled the intervention as PMC.
These changes allow for flexible targeting of doses to children most vulnerable to severe malaria and death and encourage countries to tailor implementation of the intervention based on local contextual factors.
