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Malaria control in Malawi: are the poor being served?
Don P Mathanga1, Cameron Bowie
1Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi. cam.bowie@malawi.net.
International Journal for Equity in Health
|December 7, 2007
Summary
Malawi
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Public Health Policy
- Health Equity
Background:
- Focus on scaling up malaria control interventions in Africa.
- Equitable access to malaria control for vulnerable populations is crucial for health and economic benefits.
- Analysis of existing inequalities in access to malaria interventions in Malawi.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess equity in access to malaria control measures in Malawi.
- To compare utilization of malaria control methods across wealth quintiles.
- To determine if the poor are adequately reached by malaria control interventions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Malawi Demographic Health Survey (DHS) 2000 and 2004 national malaria control survey data.
- Compared utilization of malaria control methods across wealth quintiles.
- Assessed income-related inequalities in access to interventions.
Main Results:
- Insecticide-treated net (ITN) coverage increased from 5% (2000) to 35% (2004) but disproportionately benefited the least poor over the poorest.
- Effective fever treatment in under-five children remained low (17%).
- Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) use in pregnant women was suboptimal (29% received ≥2 doses), with no income-related inequalities observed for prompt treatment or IPT.
Conclusions:
- Current ITN distribution strategies fail to adequately serve the poorest populations.
- Innovative distribution models are needed to target the poorest for increased ITN access.
- Addressing wealth-based disparities in malaria intervention access is essential for effective national control programs.
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