Nigeria: Deploying the Latest Tools to Prevent Child Deaths from Malaria
Every year, tens of thousands of young children in Nigeria die from malaria – the country is home to a staggering 39% of all global malaria deaths among children under 5 years old.
To combat this tragic loss of life, the Global Fund works with the government, nongovernmental organizations, partners and local communities to roll out integrated mass insecticide-treated net and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) campaigns.
Both insecticide-treated nets and SMC are proven tools that protect people from malaria – particularly children under 5. SMC provides young children with safe preventive medicines, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine, commonly referred to as SPAQ, once a month for four months during the peak malaria transmission season. Insecticide-treated nets provide protection not only for children but their families as well.
In Nigeria’s Kaduna State, the Global Fund recently supported an integrated campaign that aimed to reach 8.1 million people with dual AI insecticide-treated nets and 2.2 million children under 5 with their first dose of SMC.
The campaign was a massive logistical effort. Following the prepositioning of millions of mosquito nets and SMC supplies, an estimated 11,900 community mobilizers and distributors were deployed door-to-door – bringing lifesaving medicine directly to young children and informing families of nearby net distribution points.
All aspects of the campaign were digitalized, using an integrated application developed by RedRose. The app supported transportation of the nets and medication, tracked which children and families had been reached with which services, and supported staff training and supervision.
The nets distributed in Kaduna are the newest next-generation mosquito nets made by BASF and Vestergaard, which are treated with two insecticides, offering stronger protection, particularly in areas where mosquitoes have become resistant to standard nets with a single insecticide. The campaign also included the collection of old nets for safe and environmentally responsible disposal.
The integrated campaign in Kaduna demonstrates the lifesaving and wide-scale impact of combining innovative tools, strong partnerships and community-driven efforts. Sustained support for these campaigns will help ensure efficient service delivery, drive down costs and, most importantly, move the world closer to ending malaria and preventing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of young children every year.