The Impact of the 5-Year SMC Intervention on the Prevention of Malaria Among Children Under-5 in Sokoto State.

Abstract

Nigeria suffers the world's greatest malaria burden, with approximately 51 million cases and 207,000 deaths reported annually, SMC has been widely used in the Sahel since the World Health Organization recommended it in 2012 for children under the age of five to prevent malarial disease, with the goal of maintaining therapeutic antimalarial medication concentrations in the blood during the time of peak malarial risk. This study aimed at evaluating the of impact of the 5- Year SMC intervention on the prevention of Malaria among children under-S in Sokoto State. A total of 5,451,337 children between 3-59 months old were enrolled across all the 23 LGAs of Sokoto state and a total of 1380 respondents’ consent were sought. This study was carried out as descriptive-analytical study. Each SMC cycle kicks with mass drugs administration for four (4) days during the implementation period, a complete treatment course of Sulphadoxine- pyrimethamine (SP) plus amodiaquine (AQ) is given to children aged 3-59 months at monthly intervals, beginning at the start of the transmission season, up to a maximum of four doses during the malaria transmission season. Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention is an intervention with great potential in Sokoto state, and along with other interventions, it could significantly contribute to approaching the threshold where elimination strategies will be envisioned. During the mass drug administration in all 23 LGAs, comprising 244 wards and 8269 settlements, the intervention significantly reduced hospital visit, admission, and malaria indicators in children. The implementation of seasonal malaria chemoprevention program in Sokoto state has been evaluated, and a great impact was observed on reducing mortality rate among children.