By Uzairu Dauda Bunga:
About 12 million children across 9 high-burden states in Nigeria have received nearly four million bottles of Azithromycin in 2025 as part of efforts to combat child-killer diseases and reduce under-five mortality.
This was disclosed by the Principal Investigator of the Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Nigeria SARMAAN Research Project, Resilience through Azithromycin for Children (REACH), Professor Ezechi, during a media sensitization meeting held via Google Meet.
According to him, eligibility for Azithromycin administration was expanded from children aged 1–11 months to those aged 1–59 months in the implementing states of Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe and Zamfara.
Professor Ezechi explained that SARMAN II is an extension of SARMAAN I, which was initially piloted in Kano, Kebbi, Jigawa and Sokoto States.
He said, the expansion followed encouraging findings from global studies supporting the scale-up of mass Azithromycin administration in regions with high under-five mortality rates, Bauchi State, he noted, is among the states with a particularly high burden.
He further stated that in 2022, the World Health Organization issued new guidelines recommending periodic mass administration of Azithromycin for children in countries where infant mortality exceeds 60 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality exceeds 80 per 1,000 live births.
Professor Ezechi said the intervention is to serve as an additional child survival strategy, adding that to support implementation, over 86,000 community drug distributors were trained across the 11 participating states.
Looking ahead to 2026, Professor Ezechi said SARMAAN II will focus on midline and endline mortality assessments, continued antimicrobial resistance (AMR) sample collection, six-monthly mass drug administration (MDA) rounds across the states, and further strengthening of the health system.
He acknowledged the support of the Federal Government, Bauchi State Government, development partners, community leaders and caregivers for their cooperation and trust in making the project successful.
Earlier, the Project Lead of the SARMAAN Advocacy Team, Mr. Ikechukwu Ofuani, emphasized the critical role of the media in agenda setting and driving national ownership of the health initiative.
He urged journalists to promote public awareness about SARMAAN and help eliminate misinformation.
Mr. Ofuani also called on the government to prioritize the integration of the intervention into the national Child Survival Action Plan, backed by strong, sustainable and clearly defined policies.
It will be recalled that on October 31, 2024, the Abuja Declaration on REACH for Child Survival was signed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, and the former Minister of Health of the Republic of Mali, Professor Samba Sow, as Co-Chairs of the REACH Network.
The initiative aims to reduce child mortality through biannual Azithromycin distribution in high-mortality regions across six African countries — Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
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