Assessing age compliance during seasonal malaria chemoprevention in nine states in Nigeria

Authors: Taiwo Ibinaiye, Kunle Rotimi, Ayodeji Balogun, Adaeze Aidenagbon, Chibuzo Oguoma, Christian Rassi, Kevin Baker, Olusola Oresanya, Chuks Nnaji

The administration of seasonal malaria chemoprevention medicines to age-ineligible children is common. Understanding associated causes will enhance the quality of programmes.

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is a highly effective intervention to prevent malaria infections in areas where the malaria burden is high, and transmission is seasonal. Implementation quality standards require community distributors to ensure that only age-eligible children (3–59 months) receive SMC medicines during monthly campaigns. However, there is uncertainty about the extent to which SMC medicines are administered to ineligible children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of this occurrence while exploring associated factors during the second round of SMC in nine states of Nigeria in 2022. This poster was presented at the 72nd annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.