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The Tanzania experience, from a concept via research to a policy: improving health of school children with a new community based intervention
School-aged children harbour high malaria parasitaemia in most endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa and constitute the main reservoir of malaria and thus fuel the transmission of the disease.
Therefore, a clinical study in North eastern Tanzania assessed if preventive treatment of malaria in schoolchildren (IPTsc) is a feasible, acceptable and effective tool to reduce malaria and malaria related anaemia. The results were such that, for evidence of the operational feasibility and effectiveness, the Ministry of Health followed immediately and sponsored and executed an implementation study involving over 73,000 school children from 127 primary schools.
This, in its turn, led to a policy brief developed to guide the introduction and practice of IPTsc in moderate to high endemic areas, and IPTsc will be rolled out in one third of Tanzania. Meanwhile, this strategy is recommended by the WHO malaria guideline 2023.
Speakers
- Prof. JP Van geertruyden, Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp
- Dr. Geofrey Makenga, MD, PhD Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp & National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Tanga, Tanzania
- Dr. Abdallah Lusasi (Head, Case Management-National Malaria Control Program/Ministry of health, Tanzania