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The Sarmaan Project, an initiative aimed at reducing child mortality in Nigeria, has recorded a significant milestone in its pilot phase. The project, which was implemented in the Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, successfully treated over 36,000 children with azithromycin drugs to enhance their life expectancy.
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The project coordinator, Dr. Teyil Wamiyel-Mshella, disclosed this during the close-out ceremony of the safety and antimicrobial resistance of mass administration of azithromycin to children aged 1-11 months in Ikono LGA. “The Sarmaan project is a very good project that was introduced in Nigeria in 2020 with fieldwork, and so far, it has been very successful,” Wamiyel-Mshella said.
The project aimed to ensure that children between the ages of 1 and 11 months receive the drugs under strict monitoring to ascertain their safety and antimicrobial resistance in children. “Azithromycin is a very good medicine; it’s an antibiotic that is used for the treatment of many ailments that affect children and also contribute to infant and child deaths between 0 and 5 years,” Wamiyel-Mshella explained.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ekem John, commended all the partners for making the project a success. “I want to recognise the good people of Ikono LGA, the chairman, and the paramount ruler, who allowed this activity to succeed,” John said.
The Executive Secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Eno Attah, appreciated the Federal Ministry of Health for considering Akwa Ibom State as one of the states for the pilot project. “Children are very vulnerable when it comes to disease infection as they are unable to detect where exactly they feel,” Attah emphasised.
A stakeholder in Ikono Community, Hon. Emem Joseph Uwah, expressed happiness about the project and the commitment of the officials towards its success in the Council. “They did their work diligently; they went through creeks—we have riverine areas, but they were never scared, and our children will feel the healthiness in them,” Uwah said.
Wamiyel-Mshella called on the state government to key into the project to bridge the infant mortality gap in the state. “We have been able to treat over 36,000 children in Ikono LGA, and we were able to engage with caregivers for them to know the usefulness of the medicine,” Wamiyel-Mshella said
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