By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Tempane (U/E), July 25, GNA – Residents across the Upper East Region have continued to show strong acceptance for the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) exercise, with parents and guardians presenting eligible children aged three to 59 months for the preventive malaria treatment.
The SMC intervention involves the administration of Amodiaquine and Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP), which are antimalarial medicines to eligible children living in areas with short rainy seasons and high malaria transmission.
The programme was first introduced in the Upper West Region in 2015, and following a successful implementation of two rounds, it was extended to the Upper East Region in 2016.
This year’s second cycle of the SMC campaign was conducted from July 22 to July 25, with a targeted population of 280,558 eligible children across the region.
Madam Zalia Nashiru, a resident of Woriyanga in the Tempane District, said her child remained malaria-free throughout 2025 after receiving the full course of the SMC medicines last year.
Having again received the full dose this year, she expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the intervention.
Madam Amina Abugbilla, an SMC volunteer in the community, said she deliberately allowed her daughter to be the first child to receive the medicine in the presence of community members, to build public confidence in the programme.
“I first gave the medicine to my daughter on the first day of the exercise in the presence of some parents and guardians to win their trust and encourage them to accept the medicine for their children. Most of the women with children are already familiar with the exercise, but I wanted them to see that my own child had been dosed,” she said.
Another resident, Madam Nafisah Ahmed, acknowledged that although some children experienced mild side effects such as vomiting and fever after taking the medicine, her child had not experienced any adverse effects.
She commended the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for sustaining the annual SMC campaign and urged parents and guardians with eligible children to embrace the intervention to protect them against malaria.
Mr Ebenezer Cobbinah, a supervisor from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) assigned to the Garu and Tempane districts, urged volunteers to ensure that every household visited was visibly marked and that all doses administered were properly documented in maternal and child health record books.
Before the commencement of the four-day exercise, Dr Adam Zakariah, the Acting Deputy Director of Public Health at the Regional Health Directorate, addressed national and regional supervisors deployed to all 15 municipalities and districts.
He urged them to actively participate in monitoring the exercise, to ensure its objectives were fully achieved.
Mr Sydney Ageyomah Abilba, the Regional Malaria Focal Person of the GHS, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, acknowledged the support of the NMEP towards the successful implementation of the campaign.
He disclosed that 19 regional supervisors were deployed across the region’s 15 administrative districts, supported by 1,752 volunteers working in 1,453 communities.
Mr Abilba, a Medical Entomologist, expressed confidence that the region would achieve its target of administering the medicines to 280,558 eligible children despite the shortened implementation period.
“The target can be met, although it will be very challenging considering the number of days available. The exercise was originally planned for seven days but has been reduced to four because of funding constraints,” he said.
Despite the shortened implementation period, the Malaria Focal Person said the campaign commenced successfully, “We are working very hard to ensure that no eligible child is left out of this important exercise, which is intended to protect children against malaria during the rainy season,” he added.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Email: [email protected]