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By Rasheedat Oladotun-Iliyas
The 2026 Integrated Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) and Mass Distribution of Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) has commenced in Kwara State, with the government set to distribute two million insecticide-treated mosquito nets free of charge to households across the State’s 16 local government areas.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Ilorin, the Wife of the Kwara State Governor, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said the initiative forms part of ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of malaria and protect vulnerable groups, particularly children and pregnant women.
Ambassador Abdulrazaq described the insecticide-treated nets and malaria prevention medicines as safe and effective, urging parents, caregivers, religious leaders and traditional rulers to support the campaign to reduce malaria cases.
She also advised residents not only to collect the free mosquito nets but to ensure that every member of their household sleeps under them every night for adequate protection against mosquito bites.
Earlier, the National Coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr. Nnenna Ogbulafor, represented by the Head of Integrated Vector Management, Mrs. Mary Esema, disclosed that Kwara State has received about 7.4 million insecticide-treated nets since 2011.
Dr. Ogbulafor said the campaign reflects the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the health of Nigerians, especially children under five and pregnant women.
She announced that this year’s integrated campaign would also include community-based childhood tuberculosis screening as well as the collection of worn-out mosquito nets for recycling.
According to her, End-of-Life (EoL) nets are mosquito nets that have become worn out or damaged and are no longer effective due to physical deterioration or loss of insecticidal potency. She explained that the recycling initiative would promote the safe and environmentally responsible disposal of old nets while encouraging households to replace them with new ones when necessary.
In her address, the Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Ahmed El-Imam, explained that the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention programme targets children between three and 59 months of age in the eleven local government areas with high seasonal malaria transmission.
Dr. El-Imam said the integrated campaign represents another milestone in the collaboration between the Kwara State Government, the Federal Ministry of Health, development partners and donor agencies in the fight to eliminate malaria as a major public health challenge in the state.
She noted that combining two proven malaria prevention strategies would strengthen the health system, optimise available resources and expand access to life-saving interventions for residents.
The Commissioner explained that the annual intervention would provide additional protection for more than 600,000 children, significantly reducing malaria infections, severe illness, hospital admissions and preventable deaths.
Dr. El-Imam commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his sustained commitment to improving healthcare delivery through strategic interventions, noting that the administration’s investments have positioned Kwara as one of the best states in Nigeria for children to live and thrive.
Development partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), represented by Dr. Emmanuel Eyitayo, delivered goodwill messages, reaffirming their support for malaria elimination efforts in the state.
The ceremony featured the decoration of spouses of local government chairpersons as Malaria Prevention Advocates for their respective communities, as well as a practical demonstration on the proper use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
