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Research, Maternal, Child and Reproductive Health

Malaria in Pregnancy Prevention through Community Delivery (MiPPCOD)

Photo: Andalu Vila-San-Juan

Malaria infection during pregnancy is an important driver of maternal and neonatal health in endemic areas especially in sub-Saharan Africa where an estimated 30 million pregnancies exposed to the infection occurs every year. Due to malaria parasitasitation, pregnant women are also a significant source of asymptomatic carriers, which might limit the effectiveness of malaria elimination strategies.

Despite the evidence of the efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) and long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) in improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes including reductions in neonatal mortality, the effectiveness of these strategies is limited due to their unacceptably low uptake. To achieve progress towards maternal and neonatal development goals in malaria endemic areas effectiveness of these interventions must increase, and to this end exploring alternative delivery channels to antenatal care (ANC) clinics needs to be done.

This project will assess – through desk review and field work-  the feasibility of implementing distribution of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) through Community Health Workers (CHWs), in addition to current delivery mechanisms, in order to increase the uptake and effective coverage of IPTp.

Our Team

Our Team

  • Clara Menéndez
    Clara Menéndez Research Professor, Director of the Maternal, Child and Reproductive Health Initiative and Programme
  • Montse Pi
    Montse Pi Project Assistant