Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) — the intermittent administration of full treatment courses of an anti-malarial treatment combination during the malaria season to prevent illness and death from the disease. — has been shown to be effective, cost effective and feasible for the prevention of malaria among children in areas where the malaria transmission season is no longer than four months. In view of the unusually high child morbidity and mortality rates due to malaria in Borno State, the SMC campaign was rolled out in 13 local government areas of the State.
The 4-cycle campaign aims to mitigate against increased cases and deaths during the 2018 peak transmission period in the state. The objective is to maintain therapeutic anti-malarial drug concentrations in the blood throughout the period of greatest risk. This will reduce the incidence of both simple and severe malaria disease and the associated anaemia and further result in healthier, stronger children able to develop and grow without the interruption of disease episodes.
The Borno State Government partners with the World Health Organization (WHO) for this important malaria prevention campaign. The 2018 campaign targets reaching 1.1 million children.
Source: World Health Organization