Contemporary Issues in Malaria in Pregnancy: Why worry now?

This paper will describe current general trends in the decline of maternal mortality and malaria-attributable adult deaths , noting the larger estimated burden of adult mortality due to malaria than previously realized. Of approximately 655,000 deaths due to malaria in 2010, more than 90% were in Africa, Of the adult population, pregnant women are the most vulnerable to malaria (an estimated 25-30 million pregnant women are exposed annually) and, therefore, most at risk for an adverse outcome.

With an increasingly overburdened antenatal care platform in most developing countries, lack of harmonization of policies and protocols for managing malaria in pregnancy, increasing drug resistance to sulfadoxine pyremethamine (the current drug of choice in much of sub-Saharan Africa), the emergence of fake drugs on the market, the serious threat of HIV as a co-morbidity, and an urgent need for resources to acquire and distribute bed nets, previous gains made in addressing malaria in pregnancy are currently threatened. Only with strategic collaboration between the maternal health and malaria communities can policy and programs effectively address this critical issue.

The Maternal Health Task Force, in collaboration with several partners, recently convened a technical meeting in Istanbul, Turkey to bring together the maternal health and malaria communities to share evidence and discuss next steps for building a strong collaboration between the communities in order to effectively tackle malaria in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings from the recent gathering of 40 experts will be shared.