SFH reaches millions in seven states through integrated malaria prevention campaign

The Society for Family Health (SFH) has said it reached millions of Nigerians across seven states during the 2025 integrated Insecticide-Treated Net (ITN) and Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaigns, providing protection against malaria for both households and vulnerable children.

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SFH disclosed this in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the campaign was implemented in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), state ministries of health and development partners, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and Malaria Consortium (MC).

The organisation said the 2025 campaign adopted an integrated delivery model, combining mass ITN distribution with SMC, to improve efficiency and expand population-level protection during the peak malaria transmission season.

Integrated approach to malaria prevention

SFH explained that ITNs were distributed to protect entire households from malaria-carrying mosquitoes, while SMC was delivered to children aged three to 59 months, the group most vulnerable to severe malaria.

“By integrating both interventions in a single campaign cycle, duplication of logistics was reduced, cost-efficiency improved, and broader population coverage achieved,” the statement said.

The integrated model, which was rolled out at scale in 2025, aligns with national malaria control strategies and World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for seasonal malaria prevention, according to SFH.

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Scale of implementation

The organisation said ITN microplanning and distribution were conducted in six states: Delta, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Taraba, reaching millions of residents.

According to figures provided in the statement, ITN campaigns reached about 6.1 million people in Delta, 9.1 million in Kaduna, 14.7 million in Kano, 8.2 million in Katsina, 6.3 million in Niger and 1.7 million in Taraba.

In addition, SMC microplanning and implementation were carried out in Adamawa and Kano states, where more than 4.1 million SPAQ doses were administered to eligible children over four cycles of 28-day intervals.

SFH said the interventions provided protection for over 45 million people through ITNs and prevented malaria among more than four million children through SMC.

Capacity building and innovation

Beyond service delivery, SFH said the campaign focused on strengthening state health systems through training and digital innovation.

According to the statement, 96,066 health workers and community volunteers were trained as mobilisers to support microplanning, logistics, social and behaviour change communication (SBC), and data management.

“These mobilisers play a critical role in sustaining community acceptance, participation and ownership of malaria interventions,” the organisation said.

SFH added that digital tools, including GIS-based mapping and real-time monitoring systems, were used to improve population estimates, logistics planning and campaign oversight.

Partnerships,community engagement

The organisation attributed the scale of the campaign to strong partnerships with federal and state health authorities, security agencies, community and religious leaders, and donors such as the Global Fund.

According to SFH, community engagement and SBC activities were prioritised to promote correct and consistent use of mosquito nets, timely care-seeking for malaria symptoms, and adherence to all SMC cycles by caregivers.

Strategic importance

SFH said its role as a long-standing malaria implementer with national reach enabled it to operationalise complex, integrated interventions at sub-national level.

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The organisation described itself as home-grown, noting that its reliance on local structures enhances sustainability, participation and ownership of health programmes.

“By strengthening data systems, human resources and microplanning capacity, these efforts will improve the quality of future malaria campaigns and routine services,” the statement read.

Looking ahead

SFH said the 2025 integrated ITN and SMC campaign represents a major step towards reducing malaria burden in high-risk states, particularly among children under five years.

The organisation added that the scale, partnerships and data-driven approach used in the campaign position Nigeria to record measurable public health gains and build more resilient systems for malaria control in the coming years.