By SN24.com 
By Peter Akpah.
The Plateau State Government has flagged off the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention, SMC, campaign with a target to reach over one million children and further reduce malaria burden across the state.
The flag-off ceremony held at Crispan Event Centre, Jos, brought together government officials, health practitioners, development partners, and community stakeholders ahead of house-to-house administration of preventive medication during the peak transmission season.
First Lady of Plateau State, Barr. Helen Mutfwang, was officially crowned 2026 SMC Ambassador in recognition of her advocacy for women and children. In her address, she celebrated the state’s progress, noting that malaria prevalence dropped drastically from 18.8% in 2021 to 2.8% in 2025 due to sustained interventions.
“This achievement demonstrates that with strong leadership, effective partnerships, and community participation, malaria can be defeated,” Barr. Mutfwang stated. She urged parents and caregivers to ensure all eligible children aged 3 to 59 months receive the free SMC drugs during every cycle from June to October, and commended Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Malaria Consortium, and volunteers before declaring the campaign open.
Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Ba’amlong, commended the First Lady’s role and praised the State Malaria Elimination Programme, Malaria Consortium, and frontline health workers for driving down cases. He thanked Governor Mutfwang for prioritizing health sector funding and called on community leaders to champion the campaign for maximum impact.
Plateau State has commenced the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention, SMC, campaign, with health teams set to move house-to-house from Thursday to administer preventive medication to children under five, Nurse Kizito disclosed this during the flagoff.
Nurse Kizito Ndak Andarawus, Project Manager of the IMPACT Project, said the flag-off brought together health and non-health stakeholders to mobilize communities ahead of the intervention. He explained that community drug distributors, health workers, and supervisors will target children aged 3 to 59 months with “SPAQ” medication designed to prevent malaria infection.
According to Andarawus, the campaign is timed for June to October because that period marks peak rainfall and the highest transmission of malaria. The goal, he said, is to stop children from contracting the disease rather than treating it after infection.
Parents and guardians have been urged to avail eligible children for the free and safe preventive drug during the monthly cycles of the campaign.
Nurse Kizito Ndak Andarawus, Project Manager of the IMPACT Project, explained that from June to October, community drug distributors, health workers, and supervisors will move house-to-house every month to administer safe, free preventive medication to children under five.
“The aim of this medication is to prevent children from coming down with malaria. We want to reach over one million children, and we urge parents and guardians to make every eligible child available for this intervention,” Andarawus said. He attributed the drop in prevalence to collaboration between health workers, the media, and community leaders.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of Malaria Consortium’s West and Central Africa Programme Director, Dr. Mbwas Mashor, applauded Plateau’s progress despite Nigeria’s high national malaria burden. He reaffirmed the organization’s commitment and called for increased government ownership and sustained funding.
Chairman of the Association of Primary Healthcare, Chundung Maina, said Plateau is becoming a national model for data-driven health planning. She stressed that continuous collaboration and financing will be critical to sustaining gains.
The event concluded with the wives of the 17 local government chairmen crowned as SMC Advocates to strengthen grassroots sensitization and community participation in malaria prevention.
