The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign, targeting 1.5 million children in seven regions.

The SMC campaign is underway in the Upper East, Upper West, North East, Northern, Savannah, Bono East and Oti regions, targeting children aged three to 59 months during the peak malaria transmission season.

The Service has also intensified efforts to eliminate malaria through the nationwide distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) to schoolchildren.

The interventions come as Ghana records significant progress in malaria control, with prevalence dropping from 27.5 per cent in 2011 to 8.6 per cent in 2022, while malaria deaths have declined by more than 98 per cent, from 3,259 in 2011 to 52 in 2025.

Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, Dr Samuel Akoyirea Kaba, Director-General of the GHS, said the gains reflected sustained investment, strong partnerships and the dedication of health workers and communities.

He said Ghana had shifted from malaria control to malaria elimination through a combination of preventive measures, including insecticide-treated nets, malaria vaccination, seasonal malaria chemoprevention, intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, indoor residual spraying, early diagnosis and effective treatment.

Dr Kaba said the ongoing school-based ITN distribution targets Primary Two and Primary Six pupils to boost household ownership of mosquito nets and protect more families from malaria.

He said the programme included next-generation dual active ingredient mosquito nets, which offer better protection against insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

“Every net distributed has undergone quality assurance and received regulatory approval,” Dr Kaba said.

He urged parents and caregivers to ensure eligible children received all four monthly treatment cycles, stressing that the medicines were free, safe and effective.

Manager of the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr Hilarius Abiwu, said the school-based distribution targeted selected classes because children also received mosquito nets during routine immunisation at about 18 months, with replacement nets provided at key stages of their education.

He said the SMC campaign remained limited to seven regions because they experience highly seasonal malaria transmission, making the intervention most effective there.

“Despite funding constraints reducing house-to-house distribution from five days to four, the programme still aims to protect about 1.5 million eligible children this year,” he added.

School Health Education Programme Coordinator at the Ghana Education Service, Madam Theresa Oppong, said malaria continued to affect school attendance and learning outcomes, making the intervention critical to improving children’s health and education.

She urged parents to air newly received mosquito nets in the shade for at least 48 hours before use and ensure children slept under them every night.

Madam Oppong also cautioned against using the nets for fishing, fencing gardens, drying crops or other unintended purposes, saying every misused net leaves a child vulnerable to malaria.

She said the interventions remained central to Ghana’s efforts to sustain recent gains and achieve a malaria-free future.