By Hajara Leman
No fewer than 734,272 children in Gombe State have benefited from the Federal Government’s Azithromycin campaign designed to combat child mortality.
Dr Danlami Isma’il, Gombe State Coordinator of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD), said this while reviewing the progress of the exercise, on Thursday in Gombe.
It will be recalled that the federal government in partnership with development partners has rolled out a series of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaigns using the antibiotic “Azithromycin,” to drastically reduce under-five child mortality.
The initiative is known as the SARMAAN II Project (Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Children), alongside the REACH Nigeria (Resiliency through Azithromycin for Children) network.
The campaign targeted children aged 1 – 59 months, to combat preventable killer diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, and sepsis which are the leading causes of under-five deaths in high-burden states.
Official records showed that the campaign has successfully conducted 19 rounds of MDA, reaching over 13 million children and distributing more than 5.7 million bottles of Azithromycin across the country between 2024 to date.
Isma’il said that the exercise recorded a significant increase in coverage, rising from 81 per cent in the first round to 95 per cent in the second round in Gombe state.
He said that the intervention targeted about 905,985 children, and was conducted at a six-month interval in the state.
The coordinator said that the first round was conducted in November 2025, and the second round in May 2026, while the third round would be held between Oct. 8 and 11.
Isma’il attributed the improvement in the coverage to increased community mobilisation that spurred participation in the exercise.
He said that the campaign was being implemented with the support of the Malaria Consortium and Solina.
The coordinator said that an assessment exercise conducted indicated differences in the prevalence of some illnesses between families whose children were covered and those who did not.
Isma’il said that malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea were more prevalent among families whose children missed the drug, while the burden of the illnesses was lower among families whose children received the drugs.
He said that findings highlighted the importance of expanding coverage to ensure that eligible children were not missed during subsequent rounds.
On the challenge of reaching children in hard-to-reach areas, Isma’il said that the agency deployed vehicles, motorcycles and other means of transportation to ensure wider coverage.
“There have been no reported cases of resistance to Azithromycin within the programme,” he said.
On the next round exercise, Isma’il said that the agency would intensify community sensitisation to encourage parents to present their children for the administration of the drug.
While reiterating the agency’s commitment to reach every child in the state, Isma’il urged parents to cooperate with health workers to facilitate smooth conduct of the exercise.
“Community participation is essential toward improving coverage, and ensuring that the intervention reaches the targeted children.” (NAN)
Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali
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