Health
Plateau Records Drop in Malaria Prevalence, Launches New Prevention Campaign
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.
Nigeria has launched its first public-facing Mental Health Policy Commitment Tracker, a digital platform designed to independently monitor implementation of the country’s mental health laws and policies amid concerns over slow progress in carrying out key reforms.
Developed by advocacy organisation Nigerian Mental Health (NMH), the tracker was officially launched virtually on Monday after an initial public unveiling in May.
NMH announced the launch in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
According to the organisation, the platform enables policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations and members of the public to monitor progress on commitments under the National Mental Health Act and related policies, including mental health financing, workforce development, treatment access and state-level reforms.
Why the tracker matters
Late President Muhammadu Buhari signed the National Mental Health Bill into law in January 2023 after two failed legislative attempts dating back to 2003.
The legislation replaced the outdated Lunacy Act and marked a major shift in Nigeria’s approach to mental healthcare by strengthening the rights of people living with mental health conditions and providing for institutions such as a Department of Mental Health Services and a Mental Health Fund.
However, more than three years later, implementation of several provisions of the law has remained slow.
According to NMH, key institutional structures required under the Act, including the Department of Mental Health, have yet to be fully established.
The organisation also said the federal government missed its December 2025 target to fully decriminalise attempted suicide, while implementation of the 2023 National Mental Health Policy and the country’s first Suicide Prevention Policy Framework has been limited.
It said these implementation gaps informed the development of the tracker, which is intended to independently verify whether mental health commitments are being translated into concrete action.
Speaking at the launch, NMH founder Chime Asonye said policy commitments should be accompanied by measurable implementation.
“Visibility must be matched by measurable execution,” he said, adding that the platform is designed to ensure commitments lead to tangible legal, institutional and service delivery outcomes.
According to NMH, the tracker serves as a public dashboard that aggregates government data, legislative updates, budget documents, verified stakeholder submissions and community-reported evidence.
Each policy commitment is assigned an implementation status, such as “Not Started, In Progress, Delayed or Completed”, allowing users to monitor progress across the federal and state levels.
The platform tracks regulatory milestones under the National Mental Health Act, as well as governance structures, budget allocations, workforce capacity, access to treatment, affordability and broader rights-based reforms.
Stakeholders back initiative
The launch brought together government officials, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, development partners, media practitioners and representatives of the creative industry.
Among the organisations supporting the initiative are Lagos Mind, Mind Over Matters NG, Stilt NG, Our Beta Life, the Mental Health Transformation Organisation (MHT) and Hevolve Foundation.
Mental health advocate and musician Hadiza Blell-Olo, popularly known as Di’ja, urged public figures to move beyond raising awareness by supporting partnerships that strengthen mental health reforms, noting that the tracker provides a framework for improving policy accountability.
Also speaking, the National Mental Health Coordinator at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tunde Ojo, said independent accountability mechanisms can help strengthen implementation and improve service delivery.
NMH said the platform is open to policymakers, practitioners, researchers and members of the public, who can submit verified implementation updates and feedback to improve transparency and support mental health reforms across the country.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 1,274 confirmed cases.
The agency also said infections among healthcare workers have risen to 96.
Wazih Cho, Data Analyst and Epidemic Intelligence Officer at Africa CDC, disclosed this on Monday during a webinar on the Ebola outbreak.
“In the past 24 hours, 47 new confirmed Ebola cases and 12 deaths were reported in the DRC, 96 per cent of which originated in Équateur Province,” he said.
“Cumulative figures now stand at 1,274 confirmed cases with 360 deaths, indicating sustained transmission at the provincial level.”
He said Équateur Province accounted for 45 of the 47 new cases reported, making it the leading hotspot of transmission on the continent.
Mr Cho attributed the spread partly to exposure in health facilities, noting that 92 healthcare workers had been infected in the DRC and four in Uganda, bringing the total to 96.
According to him, confirmed cases have now been reported in 35 health zones across the DRC, indicating widespread transmission beyond the initial epicentre.
“For Uganda, cumulatively we have 20 confirmed cases, mostly spillover from DRC. That includes 15 imported cases, four healthcare worker infections, and two fatalities.
“All Uganda cases are classified under Kampala. Contact follow-up in Uganda stands at 100 per cent, with only nine contacts still under active monitoring. Case fatality in Uganda as of day 27 is 10 per cent,” he said.
Mr Cho said Uganda had recorded no new Ebola case since 21 June, although active surveillance remained in place.
More cases
He added that 23 of the 36 health areas in Équateur Province had confirmed cases, confirming sustained community transmission within the province.
According to him, North Kivu, which borders Équateur and Uganda, is also reporting cases, while South Kivu has recorded no new infections for at least 30 days after reporting three cases.
Mr Cho added that Africa CDC also received alerts on 28 June from Tshopo Province, which borders Ituri Province and South Sudan.
He said two confirmed male cases recorded between 9 June and 23 June suggested the outbreak had spread into a previously unaffected province.
According to Cho, the epidemic curve indicates that the first positive case was detected late, after community transmission had already begun.
He said seven-day and three-day moving averages showed the outbreak remained at or near peak transmission, with modelling projecting additional case increases over the next three weeks.
Mr Cho added that a small number of health zones accounted for about 80 per cent of confirmed cases, while several treatment centres were operating above capacity.
He said more than 20,000 community health workers had been mobilised to strengthen case detection, contact tracing and community sensitisation efforts.
In his remark, Oyewale Tomori, former President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, commended Africa CDC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for working collaboratively in responding to the outbreak.
Mr Tomori described the One Health approach as an integrated strategy recognising the close links between human, animal and environmental health.
He said that about 70 per cent of emerging infectious diseases were zoonotic, spreading from animals to humans.
READ ALSO: Nigeria responds with emergency funds as Ebola death toll rises in DRC
“Ebola, SARS, and other viruses reflect this animal-human interface, with diverse modes of transmission and host species,” he said.
Mr Tomori identified deforestation, urban expansion, mining, conflict-driven migration, bushmeat trade, climate change and weak public health systems as major drivers of emerging infectious diseases.
He emphasised that stronger surveillance, early detection and coordinated response systems were essential to preventing and containing outbreaks before they escalated.
Mr Tomori said One Health required veterinarians, physicians, social scientists, engineers and economists to work together to achieve effective outbreak prevention and response.
(NAN)
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