Muhammad Jamil Abubakar
About one million children in Gombe State are expected to receive Azithromycin during a mass drug administration exercise scheduled from November 10 to 14, 2025.
The State Project Manager of the SARMAAN II Project, Mr. Abubakar Isa, announced this during a media parley and stakeholders’ engagement held in Gombe.
Abubakar Isa, who is also the Gombe State Project Manager of Malaria Consortium, explained that SARMAAN II, which stands for Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Nigeria, is a health project aimed at reducing deaths among children under five caused by pneumonia, diarrhea, and sepsis.
According to him, the drug will be administered to children aged 1 to 59 months by trained Community Drug Distributors, who will move house-to-house across the 11 local government areas and 114 wards in the state.
Mr. Isa said the project also seeks to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the antibiotic and to gather data that could help shape national child survival policies.
The Project Technical Specialist, Dr. Obiora Anidebe, said the initiative is a collaboration between the Gombe State Ministry of Health, the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and development partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, SCIDaR, and the Malaria Consortium.
He emphasized that Azithromycin will be used for prevention, not treatment, and that the project relies on community engagement and existing health structures to ensure wide coverage.
The Director of Public Health in Gombe State, Dr. David Karatu, commended Malaria Consortium and its partners for their continued support in improving the state’s healthcare system.