Gombe Launches 2nd Round Of Child Mortality Reduction Campaign

Gombe State has commenced the second round of the SARMAN II project, a large-scale health intervention aimed at reducing childhood mortality through the mass administration of Azithromycin to children aged one to five years.

Speaking during a media briefing, Dr Musa Mustapha Abdullahi, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), described the initiative as a life-saving intervention already proven to significantly reduce deaths among children.

He explained that the project targets major child killer diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea, while also offering broader protective health benefits beyond these conditions.

According to him, the success of the initial implementation in Jigawa State, which recorded impressive outcomes, informed the expansion of the programme to other states, including Gombe.

Dr Abdullahi noted that Gombe’s inclusion in the programme was largely due to its high burden of childhood illnesses linked to these diseases, stressing that the intervention is expected to make a measurable impact on child survival across the state.

In his presentation, the Gombe State SARMAN II Project Manager from the Malaria Consortium, Pharm. Abubakar Isa said the second round of the campaign which began on Thursday, April 16, and will run for three consecutive days across all 114 wards in the state’s 11 local government areas.

He revealed that the first round, conducted in November 2025, targeted 905,085 children and achieved an 82 per cent coverage rate. For the ongoing round, he said the target has been increased to over 961,000 children.

Isa reassured the public of the safety of Azithromycin, noting that the antibiotic has been widely used for many years and administered to millions of children globally without significant concerns.

The health officials urged parents and caregivers in the state to make their children available during the exercise, emphasising that the intervention is safe, free, and critical to improving child health outcomes.