The Plateau State Government has officially flagged off the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign as part of efforts to protect children from malaria and further reduce the disease burden across the state.

The flag-off ceremony, held at the Crispan Event Center in Jos, brought together government officials, health practitioners, development partners, and other stakeholders committed to improving child health and malaria prevention.

The campaign is aimed at providing life-saving preventive malaria medication to eligible children during the peak malaria transmission season.

Speaking at the event, the Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Ba’amlong, commended the First Lady of Plateau State, Barr. Helen Mutfwang, for her commitment to the programme as the 2026 SMC Ambassador.

He noted that her support and advocacy had contributed significantly to efforts aimed at protecting children from malaria across the state.

Dr. Ba’amlong also praised the State Malaria Elimination Programme, Malaria Consortium, development partners, and frontline health workers for their roles in implementing seasonal malaria prevention initiatives that have helped reduce malaria cases in Plateau State.

The Commissioner further appreciated Governor Caleb Mutfwang for prioritizing the health sector and providing strong support for healthcare programmes in the state.

He called on all stakeholders, including community leaders and wives of local government chairmen, to support the campaign to ensure its success.

During the event, the First Lady of Plateau State, Barr. Helen Mutfwang, was officially crowned the 2026 Ambassador of the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention campaign in recognition of her advocacy and commitment to the health and well-being of women and children.

Addressing participants, Barr. Mutfwang described the flag-off of the SMC campaign as another major step towards protecting children from malaria and improving public health across Plateau State.

She expressed delight over the progress recorded in malaria control, revealing that malaria prevalence in the state had dropped from 18.8 percent in 2021 to 2.8 percent in 2025 through the combined efforts of government, healthcare workers, communities, and development partners.

“This achievement demonstrates that with strong leadership, effective partnerships, and community participation, malaria can be defeated,” she said.

The First Lady urged parents and caregivers to ensure that eligible children receive the free SMC medicines during every cycle of the campaign.

She also commended Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Malaria Consortium, healthcare workers, and community volunteers for their contributions to the fight against malaria before officially flagging off the campaign.

Speaking during the event, Nurse Ndak Kizito Zuhumnan, Program Manager of the Plateau State Malaria Elimination Program, explained that the exercise was designed to mobilize stakeholders and communities to protect children from malaria during the peak transmission season.

He disclosed that community drug distributors, health workers, and supervisors would commence house-to-house visits from June to October to administer preventive malaria medicines to children aged three to 59 months across the state.

“The aim of this medication is to prevent children from coming down with malaria. We want to reach over one million children, and we urge parents and guardians to make every eligible child available for this free and safe intervention,” he stated.

Zuhumnan noted that Plateau State had recorded remarkable success in malaria control, attributing the achievement largely to the SMC programme and sustained collaboration among government agencies, health workers, development partners, the media, and community leaders.

In a goodwill message delivered on behalf of the West and Central Africa Programme Director of Malaria Consortium, Dr. Maxwell Kolawole, Dr. Mbwas Mashor commended the Plateau State Government and its partners for their commitment to malaria control efforts.

He stated that despite Nigeria’s high malaria burden, Plateau State had achieved significant progress in reducing malaria prevalence through sustained interventions and effective partnerships.

Dr. Mashor disclosed that the 2026 SMC campaign would target over one million eligible children across the state.

He reaffirmed Malaria Consortium’s continued support for malaria elimination efforts and called for stronger government ownership, sustained funding, and continued collaboration to sustain the gains already achieved.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Association of Primary Healthcare, Chundung Maina, commended Plateau State for its commitment to strengthening the health system through data-driven planning and implementation.

She noted that the progress recorded in the state reflected stronger political will, improved investment, and effective use of evidence in public health decision-making.

According to her, Plateau State is increasingly gaining national recognition as a model for health sector improvement, adding that sustained commitment and adequate financing remain critical to consolidating and expanding the gains already achieved in the health sector.

The World Cup is here, and for the second straight edition of the tournament, the summer will go on without Nigerian involvement. The Super Eagles endured a disastrous qualifying campaign, winning just one of their opening six games and facing an uphill battle to qualify.

They did recover somewhat, and a run of three wins in four —  including a thrilling 4-0 victory against Benin on the final day when they needed to win by three clear goals —  secured a spot in the playoffs. However, that too would end in misery after losing the playoff final on penalties to underdogs DR Congo.

Africa’s Contingent at the World Cup

A ten-strong African contingent will now jet out to North America, with the bookies making Morocco the pick of them. One top crypto sports betting outlet currently makes the Atlas Lions a 50/1 shot to become the first winner from the continent of Africa, four years on from becoming its first-ever semifinalists. For Nigeria, however, a long summer lies ahead of simply watching on, as opposed to being involved.

Nigeria’s Glory Days

It wasn’t always this way. The Super Eagles featured in six of the seven tournaments held between 1994 and 2018, reaching the Round of 16 in three of them. Throughout that run, Nigeria had a slew of strikers in their attacking arsenal, capable of scoring goals against any defence.

Never was this more apparent than in the 2010 showpiece in South Africa, when then-manager Lars Lagerbäck named no fewer than seven strikers in his 23-man squad. While their goalscoring form would abandon them in their hour of need that summer, let’s see if you can remember who they were.

Nwankwo Kanu

When it comes to the greatest Nigerian strikers of all time, Nwankwo Kanu has to be near the top of the list. He shot to prominence with Arsenal in the early 2000s, announcing himself with a blistering 15-minute hat trick against rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He would go on to claim two Premier League titles with the Gunners, but by the time the 2010 World Cup rolled around, he was in the twilight of his career.

Kanu was still in the Premier League with Portsmouth, and Super Eagles boss Lagerbäck made him captain for the tournament. Even still, he sat on the bench for the first two games before playing an hour in the third against South Korea.

Yakubu

Feed the Yak, and he will score. That’s what English fans used to sing about cult-hero Yakubu during his days with Portsmouth, Everton, and Middlesbrough. He had just netted five Premier League goals for the Toffees in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, and he was supposed to be the man to fire Nigeria to glory. Instead, it’s his disastrous miss in the third group stage game against South Korea —  a miss that saw the Super Eagles exit the tournament —  that he is best remembered for.

Obafemi Martins

Another genuine superstar. Obafemi Martins scored goals for fun alongside Brazilian Adriano at Inter Milan, before moving on to Newcastle United, where he would net 35 goals in three seasons. In 2009/10, he was playing for German outfit Wolfsburg and was still deadly.

Despite his unquestionable prowess at the club level, he wasn’t able to make an impression on the 2010 World Cup. He came off the bench in the games against Argentina and South Korea, but he was never able to find the net, and the Super Eagles duly bowed out.

Peter Odemwingie

Peter Odemwingie was somewhat of an unknown commodity back in 2010. He had spent the last three and a half years in Russia, never truly setting the world alight with Lokomotiv Moscow. He went to the World Cup anyway, despite his lack of form. He, too, would come off the bench for each of the opening two games but never found the net.

At the culmination of the tournament, Odemwingie joined West Bromwich Albion and immediately shot to prominence after scoring 15 goals in his debut campaign. He is perhaps best remembered for driving to Loftus Road, home of Queen’s Park Rangers, in an effort to force through a move on transfer deadline day in 2013, even though the club hadn’t even made an offer to sign him.

John Utaka

Jon Utaka was another in miserable form heading into the World Cup. He had just suffered relegation from the Premier League with Portsmouth alongside Kanu, but Lagerbäck called him to the international squad anyway. He wouldn’t see a single minute of game time at the tournament.

Brown Ideye

21-year-old striker Brown Ideye had never played for Nigeria before, but Lagerback called him up to the World Cup squad as well, despite him netting just two league goals for Sochaux in the season leading up to the tournament. He wouldn’t see a single minute of action either, but he would find form immediately following the tournament. In 2010/11, he hit 17 goals for his French side and secured a big-money move to Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv, where the goals would continue to flow.

Kalu Uche

Almeria striker Kalu Uche was perhaps the most in-form out of this entire crop after netting nine goals in La Liga in the buildup to the World Cup. Truth be told, he is the only one who managed to leave South Africa with his head held high after netting twice on football’s grandest stage, firstly against Greece and then against South Korea. The goals would dry up from there, however, and he only ever found the back of the net twice more in a Nigeria shirt before falling out of favour.