Benue Battles Malaria With N294.53m Counterpart Fund

The Benue State government has approved N294.53 million as it counterpart funding for the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign across the 23 local government areas of the state.

The commissioner for information and orientation, Solomon Iorpev, stated this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council held on Friday in Makurdi.

Iorpev said the approval, granted to the Ministry of Health, was aimed at strengthening efforts to prevent malaria among children, women and other vulnerable groups, particularly during the rainy season when the prevalence of malaria increases.

He explained that the intervention was particularly important for vulnerable communities across the state, stressing that the government remained committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

The commissioner also addressed reports concerning alleged plans to establish ranches in some parts of Benue State, describing some of the information circulating in the public space as misleading.

Iorpev said the previous administration had, on October 16, 2017, granted the federal government the liberty to establish ranches in certain areas of the state.