INTEGRATION Spotlights

Did you know that the prevalence of P. falciparum infection is high in the first trimester of pregnancy and associated with adverse effects for the woman and her baby?

Dr. Valérie Briand (IRD, Epicentre)

Le paludisme au cours de la première moitié de la grossesse est nocif à la fois pour la mère et pour son fœtus. En effet, contracter une infection à P. falciparum au cours du premier trimestre de la grossesse augmente le risque de développer une anémie maternelle au troisième trimestre de la grossesse. En outre, cette période peut constituer une période à haut risque pour le fœtus si les parasites du paludisme associés à la grossesse s'accumulent dans le placenta au cours de la différenciation des trophoblastes et du remodelage vasculaire de l'utérus.

Did you know the burden of malaria in pregnancy in sub-Saharan African countries?

Prof. Kassoum Kayentao (USTTB)

Malaria continues to be a major health problem in low and middle-income countries. Pregnant women and children under five years of age are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria. Each year, approximately 46 million pregnant women are at risk of malaria infection in sub-Saharan Africa and the burden of malaria is increasing year by year.

Did you know that WHO recommended R21/Matrix-M as new malaria vaccine for malaria prevention in children?

Prof. Halidou Tinto (CNRST/IRSS)

R21/ Matrix-M is the second malaria vaccine developed, already recommended by the WHO for malaria prevention in children. It targets pre-erythrocytic parasite stages of P. falciparum and has an efficacy of 75% against the efficacy of the previous vaccine RTS,S/AS01 equal to 30-40%. To date, the R21/Matrix-M vaccine has been licensed for use in Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

Did you know that implementation research also focuses on identifying the main factors that contribute negatively or discourage women from accessing malaria in pregnancy services in SSA?

Dr. Dario Scaramuzzi (R-EvoWW, Italy)

Implementation research is aimed at exploring and evaluating the barriers and facilitators that affect the adoption and integration of research findings and evidence-based health interventions into real-world settings to improve the quality, effectiveness, and equity of health services and public health.
In the context of malaria in pregnancy, the multiple factors that demotivate women from accessing antenatal care (ANC) services and IPTp-SP treatment (MiP interventions) in SSA could be grouped into four themes:

•Health system factors – failure to enforce directly observed therapies, charges for ANC and IPTp-SP services, negative attitudes of maternal health providers, stock-outs and poor ANC arrangements, failure to educate women about the benefits of SP and shortage of health staff
•Individual factors – difficulty in swallowing the tablets, potential side effects of the drugs, difficulty to pay ANC charges, and ignorance
•Socio-cultural factors – the shame and fear of revealing pregnancy, the poverty, lack of permission from their husbands and male heads of families to attend ANC, use of traditional and ancient remedies
•Environmental factors – warm weather and long distance to reach health facilities especially for women who live in rural areas