Diagnosis &IPTp &Malaria in Pregnancy Bill Brieger | 25 Nov 2019 06:31 pm
Improved Uptake of Malaria in Pregnancy Indicators: A Case from USAID Boresha Afya Project, Lake & Western Zone, Tanzania
Zipporah Wandia,* Jasmine Chadewa, Agnes Kosia, Goodluck Tesha, Lusekelo Njoge, Zahra Mkomwa, Dunstan Bishanga, Rita Noronha, Bayoum Awadhi, Gaudiosa Tibaijuka, Chonge Kitojo, Erik Reaves, and Abdallah Lusasi presented a poster entitled “Improved Uptake of Malaria in Pregnancy Indicators: A Case from USAID Boresha Afya project, Lake & Western Zone, Tanzania” at the 68th Annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Their findings are seen below.
Magnitude of Malaria in Pregnancy: Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) has been recognized as a major public health concern. It is contributing to poor maternal and newborn health outcomes. In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 20% of stillbirths are attributable to MiP and contributes to an estimated 10,000 maternal deaths and 100,000 infant deaths each year (Desai M. ter Kuile et al 2018).
Tanzania implements a three-pronged approach to prevent the adverse effect associated with MiP as recommended by WHO including 1)Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, 2) Use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs), and 3) Strengthened Case management with Prompt diagnosis and treatment.
USAID Boresha Afya Lake and Western Zone Project supports Ministry of Health through the National Malaria Control Program to implements its strategies targeted to improve MiP in seven project supported regions. The Project uses the malaria data dashboard to identify facilities with gaps through:
- Malaria Service Data Quality Improvement (MSDQI)
- Supportive supervision
- On job training and mentorship to capacitate health care providers to provide quality MiP services to improve indicators performanc
Results: USAID Boresha Afya Project in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Program(NMCP) and involvement regional and council health management teams improved uptake of IPTp and MiP indicators in seven regions supported by the project
Improved documentation in Health Management Information System Book 6 
and the Antenatal care (ANC) register used in Tanzania’s health facilities. Quarterly follow-up and mentorship for health care workers at ANC were completed between 2016–2018 in 1817 (100%) health facilities.
Uptake of both IPTp2 and IPTp3 increased steadily as seen in the two graphs. The increase between 2016 and 2019 was from 50% to 80% for IPTp2. IPTp3 increased 0 to 63%. General support to antenatal care where IPTp is given resulted in an increase in those women attending for the first time in their first trimester: 15% to 34% over the same time period.
Testing of pregnant women for malaria 
rose from 75% to 99%. During the period an average of 10% of women tested positive and were given appropriate malaria treatment.
Lessons Learnt: The improvements in MiP indicators in the Project supported regions is partly attributed to:
- Commitment among health care
workers - Mentorship and proper documentation
- Improved the overall quality of ANC services in the supported regions
*Affiliation: USAID Boresha Afya Project – Jhpiego Tanzania; USAID Boresha Afya Project – Path Tanzania; National Malaria Control Programme-Tanzania Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Tanzania; US President’s Malaria Initiative-United States Agency for International Development
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the USAID Boresha Afya and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government.