Writing By Isma’il Adamu; Editing By Godwin Duru
Over 13 million children have been administered with Azithromycin drugs between 2024 and 2026 across Katsina, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, and Sokoto states, as part of ongoing efforts to reduce child mortality through evidence-based Azithromycin (AZM) Mass Drug Administration in high mortality areas.
Senior Project Manager for the Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin Among Children 1–59 Months (SARMAAN II) Project, Ijeoma Mmirikwe, disclosed this in a progress report on the implementation of the SARMAAN II project made available to Newsmen in Katsina.
The report was sequel to a high-level stakeholder roundtable convened in Abuja, based on recommendations from the National Child Health Technical Working Group and the Directorate of Family Health at the Federal Ministry of Health.
Mrs. Mmirikwe noted that over 5.7 million bottles of Azithromycin have been distributed across the ten states where administration has been smooth in all the target communities.
The Chairman of SARMAAN II Steering Committee and Director of Family Health Department, Dr. John Ovuoraye, explained that the meeting was aimed at strengthening institutional alignment, define governance structures, and advance Nigeria’s pathway toward integrating the SARMAAN II intervention into national child survival policies.
He appealed to stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector to take ownership and coordination of the SARMAAN II project, as part of efforts to strengthen child survival interventions in the country.
Dr. Ovuoraye emphasized that safeguarding the lives of Nigerian children must remain a national priority that should reflect in greater political will by policy makers and commitment among other stakeholders to the success of child survival interventions.
Meanwhile, the Project Team Lead of the SARMAAN Advocacy Project, Mr. Ikechuwu Ofuani, explained that the advocacy effort focuses on “ensuring government ownership of the intervention, integrating SARMAAN into Nigeria’s Child Survival Action Plan, securing sustainable domestic financing, and amplifying public awareness and policy engagement”.
Ofuani noted that the SARMAAN programme intends to build on the success story in Niger, Tanzania and Malawi where similar Azithromycin interventions led to 13.8 percent reduction in child mortality.
Isma’il Adamu
