The wife of Plateau State Governor, Helen Mutfwang, launched the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign for more than one million children in Jos on Tuesday.

The governor’s wife, who was decorated as the SMC ambassador, reaffirmed her commitment to protecting children under five years old.

She said malaria remained a leading cause of child illness and death in the country, but Plateau had reduced its prevalence from 18.8 per cent in 2021 to 2.8 per cent in 2025.

She added that the success came through the World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended SMC intervention, which provided monthly preventive medicines to children aged three to 59 months.

She explained that the state had run SMC since 2021 with the Malaria Consortium, whose partnership was expanded to support routine immunisation in three local government areas.

She said, “As a mother, I call on all parents to ensure every child receives free, safe SMC medicines each cycle.”

Mrs Mutfwang commended the governor and his “Time is Now” agenda and thanked the Malaria Consortium, federal health agencies and development partners for their efforts towards reducing malaria prevalence in the state.

She also saluted healthcare workers, community volunteers, traditional rulers, women’s groups and youth organisations for their dedication.

She urged families to sleep under insecticide-treated nets, seek prompt testing and keep environments clean to prevent mosquito breeding.

The Plateau Commissioner for Health, Nicolas Baamlong, commended the SMC launch, noting Plateau’s malaria drop to 2.8 per cent, and urged parents to embrace free medicines.

The Project Manager of Malaria Elimination, Gizito Ndak, also commended efforts to reduce disease prevalence in the state and stressed the need for collective commitment to reach 756,000 children with SMC this year.

(NAN)