From Umar Dankano, Yola
The Adamawa State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, has concluded arrangements for the launch of the 2026 Integrated Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) and Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITN) campaign across the state.
The Programme Manager of the Adamawa State Malaria Elimination Programme, Benjamin Nashon, disclosed this during a media engagement held in Yola on Saturday to sensitise journalists on the malaria prevention campaign scheduled to take place from June 26 to 30, 2026, across the state’s 21 local government areas.
Nashon said about 2.583 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets would be distributed to over 1.15 million residents, targeting approximately five million households across the 226 political wards in the state.
He further revealed that more than 4.5 million doses of anti-malaria drugs had been procured for the prevention of malaria among children aged between three and 59 months.
In her presentation, the SPC Advisor to the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Ufuoma Agbache, said the National Malaria Elimination Programme is a preventive intervention aimed at reducing malaria infections transmitted through bites from infected female mosquitoes.
Agbache explained that the intervention, which targets children aged three to 59 months, is usually activated during periods of high rainfall when malaria transmission peaks. According to her, the strategy is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its effectiveness in protecting children from the disease.
“WHO has recommended Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention because of its effectiveness and efficiency in safeguarding the health of children between three and 59 months,” she said.
Also speaking, the Programme and Technical Manager of the Society for Family Health, Dr. Muhammad Kumo, and Dr. Uche of Management Sciences for Health said the initiative is aimed at reducing the burden of malaria and improving child health in communities.
They reaffirmed their organisations’ commitment to supporting government efforts to eliminate malaria and urged residents to embrace the campaign’s message: “Always hang your net to prevent malaria-related diseases.”
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Muhammad Chubado, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Pharmacist Zira Mathias Babani, commended the Federal Government and development partners for their timely intervention as the rainy season sets in.
He disclosed that over 10,000 ad hoc workers had been recruited and trained for the exercise, including 3,400 net distributors, 9,700 town announcers, 8,198 community drug administrators, more than 500 supervisors, 763 officers in charge of health facilities, and six state technical support teams, all deployed to ensure the success of the campaign.