How Malaria Intervention Programme Saved 49m Lives

But for a malaria intervention programme implemented across seven Nigerian states, 49 million Nigerians would now have gone to the great beyond.

This affirmation was made by is the assertion by the Society for Family Health (SFH) referencing its 2025 malaria intervention programme.

The report said the intervention combined Insecticide-Treated Net (ITN) distribution and Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC).

The malaria intervention programme was implemented during the peak malaria transmission period to boost population-level protection, particularly among children under five years.

According to the SFH report, the integrated approach it employed strengthened state health systems and positioned communities for sustained malaria prevention gains.

It added that by combining ITN and SMC, SFH aligned with World Health Organisation and national best practices to maximise protection during seasonal transmission peaks.

The benefitting states were Delta, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Taraba and Adamawa, a NAN report on the programme stated.

It said, ITN distribution alone provided protection for 45.09 million people across the six ITN implementation states.

SMC using Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine and Amodiaquine (SPAQ) protected 4.17 million children under five years during the intervention period.

The report said the approach ensured broad household coverage through nets while directly protecting the most vulnerable children through preventive treatment.

SFH said ITN microplanning and implementation were carried out in Delta, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Taraba states.

It said Kano recorded the highest ITN reach with 14.67 million people protected.

According to the report, Katsina recorded 8.1 million beneficiaries, while Kaduna reached 9.05 million people.

Niger State recorded 6.25 million beneficiaries, while Delta accounted for 6.09 million people protected through the ITN campaign.

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The report added that Taraba recorded 1.66 million beneficiaries during the mass distribution exercise.

On SMC implementation, SFH said Adamawa and Kano states were covered under the chemoprevention campaign.

It said 1.08 million eligible children were reached in Adamawa, while 3.08 million children benefited in Kano.

The report noted that the SMC intervention was delivered in four cycles at 28-day intervals in both states.

SFH said it trained and deployed 96,066 health workers and community volunteers as mobilisers during the campaigns.

“These mobilisers helped to build community trust, acceptance and ownership of malaria prevention efforts,” the report stated.

It said the intervention was implemented in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme and State Ministries of Health, alongside other partners.

The report added that data-driven microplanning, digital tools and community engagement improved efficiency, accountability and reach.