Moving malaria in pregnancy programs from neglect to priority: experience from Malawi, Senegal, and Zambia

Program areas that were generally working well in malaria in pregnancy programs (MIP) included: (1) integration of MIP interventions into antenatal care; (2) development of up-to-date policies; (3) active involvement of communities; and (4) development of capacity-building materials for training. Challenges remain in the areas of: (1) commodities; (2) quality assurance; (3) monitoring and evaluation; and (4) financing.  Authors concluded that these three countries successfully integrated Malaria In Pregnancy interventions into ANC services, but national level coordination was disjointed with only Malawi appointing a MIP focal person to ensure collaboration and planning. Frequent commodity stockouts, services lacked quality assurance and weak monitoring and evaluation mechanisms across all 3 countries affected optimal coverage.