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CDC
has been working with a variety of partners, including the World Health
Organization, JHPIEGO (an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University), UNICEF, and Ministries of Health to
strengthen subregional efforts to control malaria during pregnancy in
West Africa. In March 2002, the first Subregional Workshop on the Prevention
of Malaria During Pregnancy in Francophone West Africa was held in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso. At that meeting, data from 3 studies on malaria in pregnancy
(Bénin, Burkina Faso, and Mali), on which CDC was a collaborator,
were presented. Other countries represented (Côte d'Ivoire, Sénégal,
and Togo) laid out their malaria and antenatal care programs for discussion.
Based on the data presented, which showed that the burden of malaria during
pregnancy remained elevated in the subregion, and that intermittent preventive
treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp/SP) was more efficacious
than weekly chemoprophylaxis with chloroquine, many countries at the meeting
wrote action plans calling for pilot experiences with IPTp/SP or for outright
policy change.
The
6 countries at the meeting also committed to form a network against malaria
during pregnancy. The network is called Réseau d'Afrique
de l'Ouest contre le Paludisme pendant la Grossesse (RAOPAG) and it held its
constitutive meeting in October 2003 in Cotonou, Bénin, the site
of the current RAOPAG secretariat (http://www.raopag.org).
During the meeting, the countries present decided that the network membership should be opened to all member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sénégal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
In October 2005, RAOPAG held its 2nd annual meeting in Cotonou, BĂ©nin. Nine member countries participated in the meeting. Among partners present were CDC, JHPIEGO, USAID/West Africa Regional Program, and WHO. The secretariat reported that all member countries had adopted IPTp as a national policy and were at different stages of implementation. Some member countries had achieved countrywide implementation of IPTp. Sénégal, a member country with countrywide IPTp coverage, shared its IPTp implementation experience with members. Sénégal's key actions included free provision of SP through antenatal clinics and the administration of SP as directly observed therapy (DOT).
There
is already evidence that the cross border collaboration is bearing fruit
in West Africa. A number of other countries have now joined RAOPAG, including
the Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Madagascar, Niger, and Sierra Leone. Other
countries have also expressed an interest in joining, including Ghana,
Liberia, and Nigeria. Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Sénégal
have all formally adopted IPT with SP as a central strategy in the prevention
of malaria during pregnancy. Bénin, Burkina Faso, and Niger are
in the process of pilot testing the IPT strategy.
CDC is supportive of subregional networks.The networks bring together country programs within their subregion to share program experiences. They offer a forum to discuss problems specific to the subregion, set the research agenda for the subregion, and enhance resource utilization. Ultimately, such “South-South” collaboration builds a sustainable foundation for technical assistance and capacity building.
Page last modified : June 6, 2006
Content source: Division of Parasitic Diseases
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)
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