Community-based Interventions for Malaria in Pregnancy: Findings from Mozambique

Malaria in pregnancy is the leading indirect cause of maternal deaths in Mozambique, yet a common and often neglected concern. In order to address the situation at the community level, health professionals and community leaders need to rethink the current paradigm of acceptance of malaria as an inconvenient but expected part of life. There is a pressing need for health providers and community members to think creatively about how to increase demand, access, and use of antenatal care and malaria in pregnancy services (including those for women before they get pregnant and between pregnancies) by specifically focusing on aspects of community empowerment and linking them to health care facilities and throughout the entire health care system. Where leadership is present to help forge these linkages, outcomes are better. Key critical barriers must be addressed: lack of information and knowledge shared with the community, limited information directed towards both providers and clients; and existing information that does not take into account local knowledge and perspectives, lack of leadership at the community level, lack of investment on the part of key family stakeholders, attitudes and perceptions related to risk of malaria, safety of preventative measures, etc., late booking and low utilization of antenatal care, inadequate supply and distribution of bed nets, coupled with inappropriate or late use. To address these issues, there are several important strategies that must be applied. This paper will note key findings from recent work in Mozambique to address malaria in pregnancy at the community level.