The Kano State Government has suspended all activities under the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) programme across the state and constituted a high-powered committee to investigate its implementation, in a move that signals concerns over the management of one of the state’s major public health interventions.
The suspension, which takes immediate effect, halts all field operations, drug distribution and community mobilisation under the programme pending the outcome of the investigation.
The government also announced the immediate suspension of the Programme Manager, with administrative responsibility temporarily handed over to the most senior officer in the programme.
The decision was contained in a directive issued by the Kano State Ministry of Health on Thursday.
According to the ministry, the investigative committee has been mandated to conduct a comprehensive review of the programme’s planning, distribution process, personnel records, operational activities and other implementation documents.
The committee is chaired by the Director-General of the Kano State AIDS Control Agency (SACA), Dr Usman Bashir, and comprises heads of key health institutions in the state, including the State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Kano Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Hospitals Management Board, Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency, Kano Health Trust Fund, Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency and the Private Health Institutions Management Agency.
The Director of Administration and General Services at the Ministry of Health, Nazeer Tanko Kyaure, will serve as secretary of the committee.
As part of the probe, the ministry directed the programme’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, implementing partners and other stakeholders to submit all relevant documents, including approved work plans, distribution records and personnel lists, for verification.
While the government did not disclose specific allegations prompting the action, it said the investigation was aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability and integrity in the implementation of the malaria intervention programme.
The state government assured development partners and residents that the review was intended to strengthen programme delivery and ensure health interventions effectively reach intended beneficiaries.
It also called on all implementing partners and stakeholders to cooperate fully with the committee to facilitate the investigation.
The Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention programme is one of Nigeria’s flagship malaria prevention interventions, targeting children under five with preventive antimalarial medicines during the peak malaria transmission season. Kano is among the states with the highest malaria burden in the country and has consistently implemented the programme with support from development partners.
(The Whistler)