Tropical Health Matters

Community meeting to introduce community based IPTp

Elaine Roman and Kristin Vibbert of the Jhpiego malaria team describe below an important community-based intervention to prevent malaria in pregnancy. Follow their links to learn more.

The World Health Organization (WHO) 2018 World Malaria Report revealed that of 33 countries where intermittent preventive treatment (with sulfadoxine-

Quality Assured SP Packets

pyrimethamine/SP) is recommended for pregnant women, only 22% of eligible pregnant women received three doses of intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp3) with SP in 2017 (). Therefore, it is crucial that innovative interventions to scale up the provision of IPTp are needed to protect lives of mothers, fetuses and newborns.

The Transforming Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Optimal Pregnancy (TIPTOP), a five-year project, is one such innovative effort that aims to contribute to reduced maternal and neonatal mortality in four countries: DRC, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Nigeria by expanding access to quality-assured (QA) SP.

TIPTOP Infographic

The TIPTOP project is implementing a community-based approach to expand coverage of IPTp3 to a minimum of 50% in project areas, helping to reach the hardest-to-reach pregnant women and to ensure there are no missed opportunities for pregnant women to receive QA SP. Through rigorous research and routine monitoring, TIPTOP will generate evidence for WHO to inform a potential policy decision on global intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy.

TIPTOP is also setting the stage for scale up, supporting Ministries of Health to pilot test SP distribution at the community level in settings that will not only yield quality data in real-life program settings but also lend to program learning, including documenting best practices and lessons learned. Further, in coordination with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), TIPTOP is creating demand for and expanding access to QA SP.

Now that procurement, training, supervision, community education, monitoring and evaluation systems are nearly built, full implementation on the ground will be phased in over the next few months.

A new review by Conroy, Datta, and John highlights the connection between the kidneys and malaria on this World Kidney Day. They explain that “15 years ago, renal failure was considered a rare complication in children with Severe Malaria, yet it is now recognized as one of the strongest predictors of mortality in severe malaria.”

While severe malaria is related to reduced kidney perfusion, Conroy et al. note that, “additional studies are needed to evaluate the spectrum of AKI over hospitalization to define the etiology and pathophysiology of acute kidney injury in pediatric severe malaria.” In the diagram to the right, they show that kidney involvement is among the most deadly forms of severe malaria.

These problems are not limited to Africa. Dayanand and colleagues describe “single or multi-organ dysfunction involving liver, kidney, and brain” occurring in Mangaluru, India.

Brown et al. warn travelers including people returning to endemic areas after a long absence to be aware of severe malaria dangers once they return to non-endemic countries. “Severe malaria can cause significant multiorgan dysfunction including acute kidney injury (AKI). The pathogenesis is not clearly understood but proposed mechanisms include acute tubular necrosis (ATN) due to impediments in renal microcirculation, infection-triggered proinflammatory reactions within the kidney, and metabolic disturbances.”

The World Health Organization’s Third Edition on its guidelines on managing severe malaria addresses acute kidney injury with attention to reversing dehydration, addressing reduced urine output and even the need for dialysis. Clearly the best response is prompt diagnosis and treatment when malaria is in its very early stages, and better yet, using insecticide treated bednets to prevent the problem in the first place.

The Global Fund sixth Replenishment Conference will take place in October 2019 to raise new funds and mobilize partners toward ending AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030 in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. The target is to raise at least US$14 billion “to help save 16 million lives, avert 234 million infections and help the world get back on track to end these diseases.”

It is not exactly clear how much of this US$14 billion would be pegged for malaria, especially since there are cross-cutting health systems strengthening components to many grants. That said, the total seems to pale in light of the 2018 World Malaria Report estimated investment needs of US$6.6 billion alone for malaria from 2020 onward.

Of course the Global Fund is calling on the private sector to “mobilize at least US$1 billion to step up the fight.” It is not clear whether this should be included in the US14 billion or in addition.

The RBM Partnership notes that “Accounting for more than half of all external resources and 44% of total malaria funds available, the Global Fund represents the leading source of funding for malaria prevention and treatment.” Such non-Global Fund external resources have come from partners like the World Bank, the US President’s Malaria Initiative, DfID and a host of other bilateral, NGO and corporate sources. The implication is that at most 15-20% of current financial investment in malaria has been borne endemic countries.

RBM also highlights that at the recent African Union meeting, “African Heads of State and Government adopted the 2018 African Union Malaria Progress Report which was prepared by malaria experts from countries in Africa…” This means that the leaders acknowledged that malaria investments and significant achievements already made “are under threat and accelerated action is needed now to get countries back on track.” This led the current chair of the Africa Malaria Leaders Alliance, His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, to say, “It will take significant resources to achieve malaria elimination.  Now, more than ever, we must boost our domestic resources from both the public and private sectors.”

Analysis in the ALMA Scorecard shows in the fourth quarter of 2018 most countries have acquired the needed funds to finance malaria commodities. The analysis does not point out the source of these funds. The 2030 target is only 11 years away. Serious national planning, political will and advocacy are needed not only to prevent resurgence of malaria to pre-RBM days, but also to reduce and eliminate a disease responsible for so much economic loss and loss of life.