Incidence, cost and sources of treatment of malaria episodes across life stages in a population of internally displaced peoples in the Eastern Kasai Province (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

While malaria and forced displacement are two phenomena known to occur more frequently in Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the incidence of malaria and the cost and sources of malaria treatment across life stages among internally displaced peoples (IDPs) in Africa. This study sought to describe the incidence of malaria across life stages (infancy, preschool age, elementary school age, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and advanced adulthood) among IDPs in the Eastern Kasai Province (Congo) and assess any difference in terms of incidence, cost and source of care for malaria treatment. A household survey was conducted in 2005 in Cibombo Cimuangi, a resettlement community for IDPs. It provided various data on each household member such as age, gender, number of episodes of malaria in last six months. We performed descriptive and analytical procedures to compare life stages. Among many other things, we found the highest incidence of malaria in middle adulthood (N = 364; M=1.23; S.D. = 2.2), followed by early adulthood (N = 681; M=0.99; S.D. = 1.7). The infants had the lowest incidence rate (N=32; M=0.56; S.D.= 0.80). There was also a significant difference in terms of sources and costs of treatment for the different life stages. To achieve better malaria control, there is a need to target life stages more severely impacted by malaria as well as the most predominant sources of care used by peoples in these highly impacted groups.