Health Stakeholders Call for collective Ownership of SARMAAN Project to Boost Child Survival in Nigeria

Key stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector have reaffirmed the need for stronger national ownership and coordination of the Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin Among Children 1–59 Months (SARMAAN) Project, as part of efforts to accelerate child survival interventions in the country.

The call was made during a high-level stakeholder roundtable convened following recommendations by the National Child Health Technical Working Group and the Director of the Family Health Department.

The meeting aimed to strengthen institutional alignment, clarify governance structures and advance Nigeria’s pathway toward integrating the SARMAAN II intervention into national child survival policies.

Chairman of the SARMAAN II Steering Committee and Director/Head of the Family Health Department, Dr. John Ovuoraye, said safeguarding the lives of Nigerian children must remain a national priority.

Dr. Ovuoraye noted that survival remains the most fundamental right of every Nigerian child and stressed the need for collective efforts to ensure the progressive inclusion of SARMAAN II in the country’s Child Survival Action Plan.

He emphasised that discussions surrounding the project must be outcome-driven and aligned with existing government coordination structures, while calling for adjustments in SARMAAN’s governance framework to promote inclusive engagement and strengthen institutional ownership among stakeholders.

Dr. Ovuoraye also maintained that research findings must translate into policy actions, urging partners and technical teams to work collaboratively to ensure the success of the initiative.

Participants at the meeting agreed that Nigeria must increasingly take the lead in shaping the narrative and driving evidence-based government decisions on child survival interventions.

The SARMAAN II Project represents Nigeria’s contribution to the Resiliency through Azithromycin for Children (REACH) Network, a regional initiative designed to generate national evidence on the effectiveness of Azithromycin Mass Drug Administration in reducing under-five mortality, while monitoring antimicrobial resistance and ensuring safety.

Principal Investigator of the SARMAAN Project at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Professor Oliver Ezechi, explained that the initiative forms part of an African-led collaboration involving Ministries of Health and international partners aimed at reducing child mortality through evidence-based Azithromycin Mass Drug Administration in high-mortality settings.

Providing an update on the project, Senior Project Manager at Solina, Ijeoma Mmirikwe, disclosed that more than 13 million children have been reached between 2024 and 2026.

She said nineteen rounds of Mass Drug Administration have been successfully conducted across Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

According to her, more than 5.7 million bottles of Azithromycin have been distributed across the ten states, with no serious adverse events recorded during implementation.

Also speaking, the Project Lead of the SARMAAN Advocacy Project Team, Ikechukwu Ofuani, introduced the advocacy consortium supporting national ownership, policy integration, communication and knowledge management for the initiative.

Ofuani explained that the advocacy effort is focused on strengthening government ownership of the intervention, integrating SARMAAN into Nigeria’s Child Survival Action Plan, securing sustainable domestic financing and increasing public awareness and policy engagement.

He added that the consortium is led by Policy Vault Africa, with communications support from Saldrey Communications Limited and Big Cabal Media.

The SARMAAN programme builds on international evidence from Niger, Tanzania and Malawi, where similar Azithromycin interventions recorded up to a 13.8 percent reduction in child mortality.

Nigeria’s implementation adapts the approach to the local context while generating country-specific evidence and strengthening state and community ownership.