Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable to the ravages of malaria. Maternal infection during the second half of pregnancy causes impaired foetal weight gain. Malaria infection of the placenta and malaria-caused maternal anaemia can lead to low birth weight, which contributes to higher infant mortality and impaired development.

Malaria causes an estimated 8-14% of all low birth weight babies and 3-8% of all infant deaths in malaria areas of Africa.  For the mothers, malaria is responsible for up to  15% of the 10,000 deaths from maternal anaemia in Africa each year.

Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) – giving pregnant women preventive treatment doses of an effective antimalarial drug in the second and third trimesters – has been shown to be a safe, inexpensive and effective way to save the lives of mothers and their babies by reducing placental infections, maternal anaemia and low birth weight.

NIMR research scientist Julius Massaga is leading a wide-ranging education campaign to increase IPT coverage throughout rural Tanzania. While health workers are trained in the proper implementation of IPT, patients are targeted through media campaigns and community health education sessions explaining the benefits of the IPT strategy.

Expected outcomes

• Increased uptake/coverage of IPT among pregnant women

Impact

• Reduction of malaria associated morbidity and maternal death among pregnant women
• Improved survival of newborn babies
  

The Principal Investigator is Julius Jephuer Massaga, a Senior Research Scientist with the National Institute for Medical Research in the Centre for Enhancement of Effective Malaria Interventions. He holds a PhD from University of Copenhagen, Denmark.