The 2015 SMC campaign is Launched in Fada, Burkina Faso
Published:
The 2015 seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) campaign was launched on 4th September at the Regional Council of Fada, Burkina Faso.
As part of this campaign, access to seasonal malaria chemoprevention will be scaled up to 1.5 million children in 26 districts of Burkina Faso.
The Minister of Health and other Ministry of Health officials attended the launch, along with the Regional Governor and high level government representatives. Members of USAID, WHO and other international NGO’s were also present.
An estimated 1,000 people attended the launch, with many mothers of young children present to mark the beginning of this new, lifesaving campaign.
During the ceremony, SP+AQ tablets were administered to a group of children by government officials, and mothers received an insecticide treated mosquito net.
Dr. Eleonore Fosso Seumo, Malaria Consortium Country Representative spoke of the campaign and stated that “Malaria Consortium's presence at this ceremony demonstrates ongoing commitment to support the effort of the Ministry of Health in the fight against malaria.”
Burkina Faso is one of 7 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea- Conakary, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and The Gambia in the Sahel region that is participating in the UNITAID funded, ACCESS-SMC project, led by Malaria Consortium in partnership with Catholic Relief Services. Over the next two years, this project will provide an estimated 45 million treatments to over more than 10 million vulnerable children in the region.
During the launch, the Minister of Health emphasised the importance of malaria prevention and addressing malnutrition in Burkina Faso. He highlighted the ambitious nature of the ACCESS-SMC project and spoke of “encouraging results”, with preliminary administrative coverage rate data reaching 100%. He also praised Malaria Consortium for their support with this campaign, providing financial and technical support to ensure the successful roll out of SMC in 11 of the 26 districts.
