By SN24.com 
By Peter Akpah.
Plateau State Reviews 2025 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Campaign, Pledges Continued Leadership
_Jos, Plateau State – November 23, 2025_ – The Plateau State Ministry of Health, through its State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP), convened the 2025 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) End‑of‑Round Review Meeting at Crispan Hotels and Apartments in Jos on Monday. The three‑day session brought together senior health officials, partners and field workers to assess the implementation of the SMC campaign across the state’s 17 local government areas from June to October 2025.
During the meeting, participants examined performance data drawn from the Health Management Information System (HMIS), supply‑chain reports, and administrative coverage metrics from the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the Digital Integrated Governance and Tracking (DIGIT) platform. Presentations highlighted achievements, identified gaps and offered recommendations for the upcoming 2026 SMC cycle.
SMEP Programme Manager NDAK Kizito explained that the SMC campaign targets children under five years of age, administering preventive medication during the peak rainy season when malaria transmission is highest. “No child under five should die of malaria,” he said. “We deployed about 787 community drug distributors across the 325 wards in the state to administer the medication house‑to‑house.” He added that Plateau State ranked first among all SMC‑implementing states in Nigeria, a success he attributed to strong political will, robust community engagement and timely government counterpart funding.
Kizito also highlighted the strategic involvement of First Lady Barr. Helen Manasseh Mutfwang, who serves as SMC Ambassador, and the wives of the 17 LGA chairmen, who acted as SMC advocates. Their participation, he noted, raised awareness and increased parental uptake of the intervention. Looking ahead, he stressed the need for sustainability beyond donor support: “We must prepare for a future where Malaria Consortium may no longer be on the ground. Sustainability plans are key.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Bitrus Hosea, praised the state’s continued top‑ranking performance for the second consecutive year. “From the statistics presented, Plateau is doing exceptionally well. The strategies we adopted, including learning from best practices and improving implementation patterns, have clearly yielded results,” he said, urging stakeholders to maintain the momentum.
Rakiya Hassan Kadel, Malaria Focal Person for Wase LGA, expressed gratitude to Malaria Consortium for its support, noting that the intervention has markedly reduced cases of anemia, convulsions and severe malaria among children under five. She highlighted the impact of digitalisation introduced over the past two years, which has improved payment processes and data accuracy, and called for continued digital implementation and increased supply of SP+AQ drugs to meet a growing child population.
Rayi Lawrence Bitrus, Malaria Focal Person for Jos North LGA, reported improved malaria data quality and a reduced disease burden despite earlier challenges with PMI support. He emphasised the necessity of government provision of digital tools such as laptops and additional staffing to further strengthen data management.
The review meeting gathered a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including senior officials from the State Ministry of Health, SMEP staff, the Director of Public Health, heads of PLASCHEMA and the Directorate of Medical Administration (DMA), the Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Board, Directors of Primary Healthcare from the 17 LGAs, Roll Back Malaria Managers, field officers from Malaria Consortium and other SMC programme personnel.
In its closing remarks, the meeting issued a series of commitments aimed at strengthening supervision, enhancing digital reporting, improving logistics and sustaining the gains recorded. Plateau State now prepares for the 2026 SMC round, reaffirming its leadership in malaria elimination efforts nationwide.