In its quest to tackle the prevalence of malaria cases in Plateau State, the state said about 1,012,160 children under the age of five have received Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine with Amodiaquine (SPAQ) medication in the last three implementation cycles.
This was revealed yesterday by the Plateau State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP) following the ongoing Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) project.
Speaking during an interactive session on the progress of the exercise in Jos the state capital, the SMEP Programme Manager, Ndak Kizito, said the treatment has significantly reduced malaria prevalence across all 17 local government areas of the state, adding that the project has achieved 106 percent coverage.
“The SMC intervention is significantly reducing malaria cases in Plateau, and malaria prevalence in the state had dropped to 18.8 percent, with an unpublished Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) suggesting a further reduction to 15 percent.
“We are optimistic that with the fourth and fifth cycles of SPAQ administration, Plateau could be on track to becoming malaria-free,” he said.
In his remarks, Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, explained that the achievements is commendable, and that the SMC project is a major milestone in the state’s fight against malaria.
According to him, malaria prevalence in Plateau few years back was around 21 percent, and that figure has now dropped to about 18 percent, pointing out that with the most recent review, though yet to be made public, indications show a reduction to around 15 percent.
“If we sustain this progress, we should soon be recording less than 10 percent malaria cases per year. This is significant progress for the state, especially among children aged three months to 59 months, who are the most vulnerable,” he said.
Dr Mbwas Mashor who is the Plateau State Project Manager of the Malaria Consortium, representing Dr Maxwell Kolawole, the West and Central African Programme Director, said the engagement was aimed at sensitising the people and stakeholders, and to inform them on preparations for the fourth SMC cycle scheduled to begin across Plateau State this September.
On this part, the Director of Public Health, Dr Mafwalal Bunah Masok, say the backing of the Malaria Consortium and its consistent support has been critical in reducing malaria burden among under-five children, who are most vulnerable to severe malaria that often leads to death. So, the intervention has drastically cut down the burden in this high-risk age group.