SMC Alliance Annual Meeting Report 2025

The 8th SMC Alliance Annual Meeting was held in Lomé, Togo from Feb 25-28, 2025, bringing together 100 participants from national malaria programs, implementing partners, researchers, and global health stakeholders to reflect on the current state of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC). identify emerging challenges and shape the future of malaria chemoprevention strategies. There were 22 countries represented, including SMC implementing countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte dIvoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Niger, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Togo) as well as Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo. This report captures the key discussions, insights, and strategic priorities that emerged over the course of the meeting, serving as both a record of progress and a roadmap for action.

This report highlights emerging trends, country case studies, and cross-cutting challenges in SMC implementation. Each thematic section integrates findings from presentations, discussions, and working group sessions, as appropriate, ensuring that the knowledge shared during the meeting is synthesized into actionable recommendations. Additionally, summaries of and links to full presentations are included in the Annex. A focus of the meeting was exploring the potential for an umbrella coordination mechanism to bring together leadership, strategy, and knowledge-sharing across multiple malaria chemoprevention interventions, including SMC, PMC, PDMC, and IPTsc. Participants engaged in group reflections on the governance, practicalities, and value such a platform could bring to national programs.

As the SMC Alliance continues to evolve, this report serves as a foundation for continued collaboration, evidence-sharing, and advocacy, ensuring that the lessons learned from this meeting contribute to strengthening and sustaining SMC as a cornerstone of malaria prevention in Africa.