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Plateau Records Major Decline In Malaria Prevalence -Commissioner

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By Blessing Odega

The Plateau Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, says the state has recorded a significant decline in malaria prevalence.

Baamlong said this on Saturday, at the 2026 World Malaria Day Symposium organised by Malaria Consortium in collaboration with the State Malaria Eradication Programme (SMEP).

He said that based on the Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS), Plateau moved from 18.8 per cent prevalence in 2021 to 2.8 per cent prevalence rate in 2025, which showed a significant decline in malaria cases especially among children aged three to 59 months.

“Data from NMIS shows a dramatic and unprecedented decline in malaria prevalence 0f 18.8 per cent  in 2021 (NMIS) to 2.8 per cent in 2025 (NMIS).

“This represents an extraordinary 87 per cent reduction, the highest recorded decline among all states of the Federation and the FCT,” he said.

The commissioner further said that Plateau, in 2024 and 2025, through the State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP) with support from Malaria Consortium achieved 100 per cent coverage in its seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC), implementation, which reached one million children aged 3-59 months old .

He said the prophylaxis was administered monthly from June to October during the peak of malaria transmission in over 12,000 communities across 787 catchment health facilities in the 325 wards of the state.

According to him, the act has led to a drastic decrease in the number of children who developed fever in our health facilities due to malaria disease.

Baamlong, said the state ministry of health through the State Malaria Elimination Program and Development partners such as the Global Health Supply Chain-Procurement Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) were supporting 406 facilities with commodities for people to have access to free testing and treatment especially children under five years and pregnant women.

He further said that this act had significantly reduced Child and Maternal Mortality across the state.

Baamlong attributed the state’s success in malaria elimination to strategic planning, strong leadership, effective partnerships and community engagement.

He said for the state to attain a zero malaria status it was pertinent to strengthen community ownership of malaria prevention, ensure consistent use of insecticide-treated nets, promote early testing and prompt treatment.

He further called for expanded preventive therapies for children and pregnant women and the need to invest in new tools, improve data systems and surveillance and increase domestic financing for health.

Similarly, SMEP Programme Manager, Kizito Ndak, explained that the seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention administered to children under five years was aimed at reducing malaria cases among children three to 59 months old especially during the rainy season when prevalence was highest.

Ndak said, “No child under five should die of malaria, as the SMEP in collaboration with Malaria Consortium had prioritised prevention with the deployment of 7,878 community drug distributors across the 325 wards in the state to administer the medication from house-to-house.”

Kizito noted that Plateau emerged first among all Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention implementing states in Nigeria.

He attributed the feat to strong political will, community engagement, and timely government counterpart funding.

Earlier, Dr Maxwell Kolawole, Malaria Consortium’s West and Central Africa Programmes Director, said that no fewer than one million children in Plateau received the free seasonal malaria chemoprevention drugs in 2024 and 2025.

Kolawole, who was represented by Dr Mashor Mbwas, the State Project Manager for Malaria Consortium in Plateau, said children between three months to 59 months of age were given the preventive prophylaxis.

The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that World Malaria Day is commemorated annually on April 25. (NAN)

Edited by Vivian Ihechu

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Beyond a Venue: Usiju World Events Centre Expands Event and Hospitality Services Across Plateau and Beyond

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One of the best event centre on the Plateau, Usiju World Events has called on the public to see the Company as more than just an event venue, highlighting its growing reputation as a full-service provider in the events and hospitality industry. According to the management, many people only associate the company with hosting events, without knowing that it also offers professional event planning, consultations, decorations, and catering services for both indoor and outdoor occasions.

The management explained that the company is focused on delivering complete event solutions designed to make celebrations, corporate gatherings, weddings, birthdays, concerts, and conferences more organised, memorable, and professionally executed. Usiju World Events noted that its services are tailored to meet the needs of clients seeking quality and convenience under one roof.

In addition to event management services, the organisation also provides rental and sales of event materials, including chairs, decoration items, and kitchen utensils used for different occasions. As part of efforts to improve customer satisfaction and service delivery, the company recently introduced new event products and materials imported from China to meet the increasing demands of clients.

Usiju World Events further encouraged residents and organisations to take advantage of its indoor and outdoor decoration services, catering solutions, and other event support services available at the centre. The management reaffirmed its commitment to creativity, professionalism, and excellence, promising to continue delivering quality hospitality and event services across Plateau State and beyond.

For bookings, consultations, rentals, decorations, catering services, and event support, visit Usiju World Events at Apollo Crescent, around Secretariat Junction, Jos or call 07030362200.

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CPPE warns inflationary conditions remain severe for households, businesses

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The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that Nigeria’s April inflation outlook points to a fragile disinflation process, noting that the conditions remain severe for households and businesses in the country.

The think tank made this known in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, on Friday, noting that inflation conditions remain severe from a welfare and business cost perspective.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its April inflation report on Friday, stated that headline inflation rose marginally from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April.

CPPE said the trend indicates that although inflationary pressures remain elevated, the pace of acceleration was relatively moderate.

It highlighted some positive signals in short-term inflation trends, pointing to broad-based moderation across key month-on-month indicators.

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The NBS report also shows that headline month-on-month inflation declined by 2.05 per cent, food inflation eased by 0.54 per cent, core inflation declined by 3.0 per cent, while urban inflation moderated by 1.3 per cent.

“More encouraging, however, was the moderation in the month-on-month inflation metrics across virtually all major indicators,” the think tank stated.

It also showed that rural inflation dropped sharply by 3.9 per cent, which CPPE said suggests a weakening in short-term inflationary momentum.

Warning

Despite this improvement, CPPE warned that inflationary conditions remain severe for households and businesses. It noted that food inflation stood at 16.06 per cent, while core inflation remained elevated at 15.86 per cent.

“The dominant inflation drivers continue to be food, transportation, energy products, healthcare and restaurant services, which together accounted for about 87 per cent of the inflation pressure recorded in April.

“These are essential expenditure items which absorb the bulk of household income, particularly among low-income Nigerians,” CPPE said.

The think tank attributed rising inflation risks partly to geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, which have increased volatility in global oil markets and pushed up energy costs.

The group stressed that Nigeria’s inflation challenge remains structural and supply-driven, arguing that monetary tightening alone is insufficient to address the underlying cost pressures in the economy.

“The conflict has triggered renewed volatility in the global oil market, pushing up crude oil prices and transmitting higher energy costs into the domestic economy.

“Rising petrol, diesel and gas prices are fuelling transportation, logistics and production costs across sectors, with significant pass-through effects on food prices and overall consumer inflation.

“This further underscores the structural and supply-side nature of Nigeria’s inflation challenge. Monetary tightening alone cannot resolve inflation driven by energy costs, logistics inefficiencies, food supply disruptions and weak infrastructure conditions,” it stated.

Solutions

The organisation advised that additional monetary tightening could worsen financing costs for businesses, weaken investment, and further constrain productivity growth.

It called for a stronger focus on supply-side reforms to address production and distribution bottlenecks.

READ ALSO: FG’s 2026 fiscal measures favour local production but pose risks for importers – CPPE

CPPE called on governments at all levels to intensify measures to reduce energy costs, while also advising businesses to prioritise energy efficiency and dynamic pricing models.

“The policy priority should therefore shift more decisively towards supply-side interventions. Governments at both federal and state levels should intensify measures to reduce energy costs, improve transportation infrastructure, strengthen food supply systems, enhance trade facilitation and support domestic productivity.

“For businesses, the operating environment remains extremely challenging. Firms should prioritise energy efficiency, dynamic pricing models, consumer segmentation and affordability-driven product strategies, including smaller pack sizes, as consumers become increasingly price-sensitive and discretionary spending weakens,” CPPE stated.


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