The Oyo State government, in collaboration with Malaria Consortium, has launched the second phase of the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Campaign (SMC).

The campaign aims to achieve zero malaria prevalence in children under five in the state.

This is contained in a statement by the coordinating director, Gideon Alade, in Ibadan on Saturday.

He said the programme had been inaugurated in the Saki West Local Government Area of the state, targeting the prevention of malaria in children three to 59 months during the peak of the malaria season.

The permanent secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Olusoji Adeyanju, reiterated Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration’s commitment to significantly reduce malaria cases among children under five and pregnant women.

Mr Adeyanju said it was essential for parents and guardians to present their children to health workers for drug administration.

He said the children within the age bracket were expected to take chemoprevention drugs monthly for five months.

“The second round of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention distribution commenced on June 16, 2023, and will last till Monday, June 19, 2023.

“Distribution will be carried out monthly for four days each month. The drugs will be repeated every 28 days from June to October 2023.

“The present drugs SPAQ that will be distributed are free, and they do not cure malaria, but they prevent Malaria. It doesn’t work alone; we have to ensure that our children also sleep inside the net. Our environment should be clean without mosquito breeding sites.”

Mr Adeyanju appreciated the healthcare providers implementing the process and the Malaria Consortium Team for their support.

He said the mass distribution of malaria preventive drugs in the state had significantly reduced malaria cases in children between three to 59 months in Oyo state to 52 per cent from 72 per cent.

“The implementation commenced last year with an overall coverage of 102 per cent in which about 290,000 children were reached.”

He, however, sought the support of stakeholders in concerned communities to ensure success in the implementation.

Earlier, the wife of the chairman of Saki West Local Government, Funmi Akinola, expressed the readiness of the government to continually give the project all the necessary support.

The Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention will be administered in six local governments with the highest malaria burden, which includes Irepo, Olorunsogo and Ogbomoso North.

(NAN)