Malaria in pregnancy: Access to effective interventions in Africa

Malaria infection during pregnancy (MIP) poses substantial risks to the mother, her fetus and the newborn. Consequences of MIP include severe anemia, placental parasitemia and intrauterine growth retardation, which contribute to low birth weight, a principal cause of infant mortality in the African region. Effective interventions for the prevention and control of MIP include Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), Insecticide treated nets (ITNs), and case management, and are being deployed by countries. The global political and fiscal environment is favorable with increasing resources to support the scale-up of interventions. What is needed at country level is strong collaboration among malaria and reproductive health programs and partners, to maximize the use of available resources for scaling-up to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Equally important is the need for continuous advocacy at all levels to keep malaria high on the global agenda and maintain the current global commitment and momentum.