Malaria in Pregnancy
Each year 22 million African women
in malaria-endemic countries become pregnant. Contracting
malaria during pregnancy increases a mother's risk of developing
severe, complicated malaria and severe anemia, and also
increases her risk of delivering a low birthweight baby,
thus increasing the newborn's risk of early death. USAID
supports efforts to increase access to effective services
such as intermittent anti-malarial therapy and insecticide-treated
bednets for pregnant women.
Inadequate policies leave 95% of the 25
million Africa women who become pregnant each year without
access to intermittent preventive therapy for malaria -
a simple, inexpensive and extremely effective intervention
to protect both the woman and her newborn. Up to 400,000
infant deaths due to low-birth weight could be averted each
year if IPT were routinely available to every woman during
pregnancy.
The limited resources
and ability of governments to adequately respond to the
key issues of drug resistance and malaria in pregnancy are
threatening the future of successful malaria control in
Africa. In response, USAID has supported the establishment
of a Malaria Action Coalition to support a focused, regional
effort providing technical and program assistance to national
governments to establish an ongoing process to review, revise
and implement policies and practices promoting effective
therapy and safe pregnancies. The
goal of the Malaria Action Coalition is to directly contribute
to reductions in malaria-related mortality and morbidity
due to treatment failure and placental infection across
Africa. To support national governments in the review, revision
and implementation of malaria treatment and IPT practices,
USAID will draw on the wealth of technical and program expertise
available through four of its key collaborating partners:
WHO,
CDC,
the
Rational Pharmaceutical Management (RPMplus) and Access to Clinical and Community Maternal, Neonatal and Women's Health Services (ACCESS) Programs. Over the five
year life of the Malaria Action Coalition it is expected
that improved policies and national level practices will
contribute to the routine availability in at least 20 countries
of effective front-line treatment for malaria and intermittent
preventive therapy (IPT) for pregnant women. It is
further expected that with the assistance of the Coalition
an additional 15 countries will be at varying stages of
reviewing, revising and preparing to implement more effective
treatment policies and/or policies and practices related
to malaria in pregnancy.
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