By Taylor Prochnow, Malaria Communications Manager, PSI and Jean-Sébastien Kouame, Director of Communications and Marketing, PSI Côte d’Ivoire
Bamba Mamadou and Touré Fanta smile watching their three young children Kadidiatou, Fatoumata, and Ibrahim play – aged 5, 4, and 2 years old respectively. They are also mindful of the mosquitoes in the rainy, humid air outside their home that carry the threat of malaria.
Photo Credit: PSI Côte d’Ivoire
The Bamba family live in the small town of Boron in the Dikodougou district of northern Côte d’Ivoire. Boron is one of three localities in the district covered by the WHO-recommended seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) intervention for children aged three months to five years to keep them safe from malaria in areas where transmission is highest during the rainy season. SMC consists of administrating antimalarial medicine daily for three days each month to children aged 3 months to 5 years at high risk of severe malaria in areas of seasonal transmission.
The years since their eldest, Kadidiatou, was born have been fraught with repeated cycles of severe malaria infection, causing frequent health risks, stress about the children’s well-being, and significant financial challenges for the family. Over the course of one year alone, Kadidiatou developed severe malaria 15 times, resulting in convulsions, extreme fatigue, high fevers, and difficulty breathing.
“I am a security guard and my wife sells cakes near the primary schools. We spent at least 45,000 CFA francs every month to pay for the health care of our daughter Kadidiatou,” said Mamadou. “There were even months when two of them had to be sent to the health center. We were suffering.”
According to the Urban Health Center of Boron’s health records, there were 1,000 malaria-related consultations during the 2021 rainy season – the year before SMC was implemented in the area – of which 750 were positive for malaria after rapid diagnostic tests were used to accurately detect and diagnose infection. 400 of those positive tests were among children under 4 years old. Treatment to alleviate malaria depends on the severity of the infection. For uncomplicated malaria, treatment typically can be managed through outpatient care at a local health facility or by community health workers visiting the children’s home. Severe malaria requires referral to a hospital, many of which are too far, and overnight stays to monitor symptoms, which are costly for families to access.
Unfortunately, out of the 15 children with severe malaria referred to the General Hospital of Dikodougou in 2021, 5 died from a combination of ailments alongside malaria infection, including acute anemia and malnutrition. While they spent significant time at the hospital worried about their daughter’s recovery, the Bambas are deeply grateful that Kadidiatou was not one of those children lost.
No child should die from severe malaria when the tools exist to prevent it. In 2022, the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage prioritized prevention efforts and added SMC into their national strategic plan against malaria. Managed through the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), these prevention efforts aim to keep young children healthy and alleviate stress on the health system.
In 2023 and 2024, the planning and implementation of SMC campaigns in the Dabakala and Dikodougou health districts was supported by the PSI Côte d’Ivoire team.
At the end of the fourth monthly cycle of the 2023 SMC campaign, Mamadou and Fanta saw that other children in their community who joined the SMC program were not becoming infected with malaria. While they were initially cautious about the new SMC campaign, their children continued to suffer from malaria infection, and they continued to incur the cost of associated medical expenses. Mamadou and Fanta wanted nothing more than to keep their children safe and healthy and they decided to go to the nearest health center and register their children for the 2024 seasonal campaign.
From the first month of the 2024 campaign, Kadidiatou, Fatoumata, and Ibrahim all took the first dose in the presence of the community health worker and the second- and third-day doses from their parents. Throughout the campaign from July to October, they were given the 3-day doses of antimalarials each month. To their parents’ relief, all three children were malaria-free throughout the 2024 seasonal rains for the first time in their young lives.
Mamadou smiled as he reflected on this positive change for his family:
“It has been 4 months that my children have not [been severely ill and had to go] to the health center. Fanta and I are greatly relieved and can finally save money!”
He now shares their family’s personal experience and the value of the prevention campaigns with everyone who will listen.
Families like the Bambas benefitted from the 2024 SMC campaign across the Dabakala and Dikodougou districts. The 2024 campaign goal was to administer prevention medicine to at least 90% of children aged 3 to 59 months registered in each cycle. That goal was exceeded – the campaign achieved coverage rates of over 98% each month. By the end of cycle 4 in October, all 52,579 children registered had received SMC medicine to stay healthy during the rainy season and reached an additional 1,069 children previously unregistered in the area.
Thanks to the 2024 SMC campaign, there are thousands of stories of children like Kadidiatou, Fatoumata, and Ibrahim that remained healthy through the rainy season and parents that could rely on their children’s safety. PSI remains committed to supporting the NMCP in Côte d’Ivoire with planning and implementing SMC campaigns, so more families and their young children can stay safe from malaria.
Read more about the power of SMC here.
