Malaria in Pregnancy

	Soon-to-be mother Halima Athmani takes her first dose of antimalarial medicine at an urban health care facility in Tanzania as part of her antenatal visit. Source: Karie Atkinson/USAID

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 preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with an antimalarial therapy and insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) for pregnant women. Up to 400,000 infant deaths due to low birthweight could be averted each year if IPTp were routinely available to every woman during pregnancy.

To support national governments in the review, revision, and implementation of malaria treatment and IPTp practices as part of their overall malaria in pregnancy policy, USAID draws on the wealth of technical and program expertise available through four of its key collaborating partners: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Management, and Access to Clinical and Community Maternal, Neonatal and Women’s Health Services projects. ITN ownership and usage and IPTp usage have increased dramatically in many of the 15 President's Malaria Initiative focus countries, although a gap remains.