The Kwara State government has flagged off the 2024 Seasonal Malaria Chemo-prevention (SMC) campaign in Ilorin, the state’s capital.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq says that his administration has reduced the burden of severe malaria to 6% among children in the state.
Speaking at the event, the governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Youths, Sheu Usman, identified malaria as a major public health concern in the country and a significant cause of Under-5 morbidity and mortality with a prevalence of 23% in children below the age of five.
The governor said, “Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention involves the house-to-house distribution of malaria preventive medicine to children aged 3-59 months in 11 eligible LGA of Kwara state”.
“Our mothers are to equally ensure that they complete the Day 2 and Day 3 drug in order to keep their children free from malaria this raining season, while our mothers and fathers should ensure that they and their children continue to sleep under the Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) every night”, he said.
AbdulRazaq charged mothers to receive health volunteers – community distributors (CDD) who will be coming to their houses to give the malaria preventive drug (SPAQ) and supervise the administration of the first dose to eligible children.
