After nearly three decades in public health logistics, Usman Sani knows that every delivery he manages could be the difference between life and death.
Usman and his colleagues were recently stationed at a warehouse in Ungwan Muazu in Kaduna State, Nigeria, where they managed a massive flow of lifesaving mosquito nets and medicines coming into the facility, before being dispatched to surrounding communities.
Like most people in Nigeria, Usman has witnessed firsthand the devastation families face when malaria prevention tools arrive too late.
“I have seen so many deaths from malaria, especially among little children,” he says.
Every year, tens of thousands of young children in Nigeria die from malaria — a preventable and treatable disease. The country bears a staggering 39% of global malaria deaths among children under five.
To help protect children and their families, the Global Fund recently partnered with the Nigerian government, local and international NGOs, technical agencies and communities to support an integrated malaria campaign across Kaduna State — combining the mass distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets with seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) for young children.
Kaduna State, located in northwestern Nigeria, is home to around 9 million people and stretches over 46,000 square kilometers — an area roughly the size of Switzerland. Reaching millions of people across the state is complicated by poor infrastructure, difficult terrain and insecurity.
SMC is a proven preventative oral malaria treatment given to children under five once a month during the four-month rainy season — the period of highest malaria transmission. Long-lasting insecticide-treated nets remain one of the most effective tools to protect not only children, but everyone living in malaria-endemic areas.
Usman and his team were part of the network of more than 14,000 logisticians, community mobilizers and distributors across Kaduna State who worked tirelessly to implement the campaign, with the goal of reaching 8 million people with nets and 2.2 million young children with their first dose of SMC in just one month.
For over a decade, the Global Fund and its partners have delivered malaria prevention tools at scale, protecting hundreds of millions of people across the world in regions hit hardest by the disease.
Today, through collaboration with the private sector, malaria campaigns are using innovative tools and digital technology to deliver stronger, more precise protection.
In Kaduna State, an integrated mobile and web-based application developed by RedRose, in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Program and other partners, digitized nearly every aspect of the campaign. The application tracked deliveries, shipments and stock levels of nets and medication; monitored which children and families had been reached with which services; and supported staff training and supervision.
The campaign delivered the newest next-generation mosquito nets: BASF’s Interceptor® G2 nets and Vestergaard’s PermaNet® Dual. Both nets are treated with two insecticides, offering stronger protection, particularly in areas where mosquitoes have become resistant to standard nets with a single insecticide.
Through strategic market-shaping efforts — including the use of a Revolving Facility to make advance market commitments — the Global Fund plays a vital role in ensuring the newest nets offering the best protection reach communities who need them most as fast as possible, including people in Kaduna State.
The impact is significant – two clinical trials and five pilot studies, delivered through the New Nets Project as well as through partner funding, found the new nets to improve malaria control by approximately 20-50% in countries in sub-Saharan Africa reporting insecticide resistance, compared to standard nets.
And these investments do even more.
By training health workers, improving diagnostics and reinforcing reliable supply chains, entire health systems are strengthened. In doing so, countries become more resilient to crises and better equipped to tackle major health threats and emergencies through stronger national systems and reduced reliance on external support.
“We had a population that wasn’t knowledgeable in handling malaria issues. The campaign has changed this,” says Danka Sule, program manager at Kaduna State’s Malaria Elimination Program. “We intend to continue improving our methods, so the state can own this intervention ourselves.”
One of the thousands of health workers who went door to door administering SMC and delivering net cards to families was Shifawu Abdulkarim. She became a community health worker 12 years ago — the very same year she became a mother, which, she says, shaped her motivation to protect other children.
“I love children, so when I found out the campaign was about [reaching] children I decided I wanted to join,” she says.
Shifawu was trained on the digital tools used in the campaign and then set out to reach families in her community — visiting home after home to give children SMC and every household a card to collect nets.
It is demanding work under the hot sun, but Shifawu also knows the stakes are high.
“If I should leave this job, what will be the fate of our children?” she asks.
With continued investments, the deployment of innovative tools and the dedication of frontline workers like Shifawu and Usman, communities in Kaduna State and beyond are gaining the protection they need to fight malaria and build stronger, more resilient health systems for the future.
© 2026 The Global Fund
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