Providing an answer for the underserved: tackling malaria in pregnancy

Summary

This video highlights the challenges faced by pregnant women in malaria-prone areas like Kenya, Nigeria, and Thailand. Women like Angavu, Moyinoluwa, and Lamai struggle with the constant threat of malaria during pregnancy, which can lead to severe outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and low birthweight. Despite the risks, there is a significant gap in malaria prevention for pregnant women due to limited drug options. The Medicines for Malaria Venture's MiMBa initiative aims to close this gap by accelerating the development of safe antimalarial drugs, ensuring better healthcare access, and advocating for change to protect both mothers and their babies.

Takeaways

• 😀 Angavu, a woman from Kenya, is excited yet anxious about her pregnancy due to the constant threat of malaria in her region.
• 😀 Moyinoluwa, a pregnant woman from Nigeria, is dealing with clinical malaria while being HIV positive, which complicates her treatment options.
• 😀 Lamai, a new mother from Thailand, lives in constant fear of malaria during her postpartum period, especially concerning the possibility of relapsing with Plasmodium vivax malaria.
• 😀 Nearly 130 million women are at risk of malaria during pregnancy each year in malaria-prone areas, which can lead to severe health issues for both mothers and babies.
• 😀 Malaria in pregnancy can result in serious outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, neonatal mortality, and low birth weight.
• 😀 In 2022, 393,000 babies were born in Africa with low birth weight due to malaria in pregnancy, according to the WHO’s 2023 World Malaria Report.
• 😀 Malaria is also responsible for approximately 10,000 maternal deaths annually.
• 😀 The Malaria in Mothers and Babies (MiMBa) initiative, launched by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) in 2020, aims to improve care for pregnant and lactating women affected by malaria.
• 😀 Pregnant women have been excluded from many drug trials, leading to delays in the development of safe malaria treatments for them, sometimes taking up to 20 years for approval.
• 😀 MMV’s MiMBa strategy focuses on accelerating the development of new malaria treatments, especially for pregnant women, and improving accessibility to antimalarials in underserved areas.

Q & A

What are some of the challenges pregnant women face in malaria-endemic areas?

Pregnant women in malaria-endemic areas, like Angavu in Kenya, face the constant threat of malaria, which can lead to severe complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and low birth weight in babies. They also lack access to preventive treatments, which can increase the risk of malaria infection.

How does malaria affect pregnant women and their babies?

Malaria during pregnancy can have serious effects, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight, and neonatal mortality. Malaria also contributes to maternal deaths, with estimates suggesting 10,000 maternal deaths annually.

Why is there limited access to malaria-prevention medicines for pregnant women?

Pregnant women have historically been excluded from drug trials due to concerns about potential harm to both them and their babies. This has led to delays in approving medicines for use during pregnancy, sometimes taking up to 20 years.

What role does the Malaria in Mothers and Babies (MiMBa) initiative play?

The MiMBa initiative, launched by Medicines for Malaria Venture, aims to improve the care of pregnant and lactating women affected by malaria by accelerating the development of antimalarial treatments, gathering safety and efficacy data, and increasing access to high-quality medicines, especially in underserved regions.

What is the significance of the World Malaria Report 2023 for maternal and infant health?

The WHO’s 2023 World Malaria Report highlighted that in 2022, 393,000 babies were born in Africa with low birth weight due to malaria during pregnancy. It underscores the importance of addressing malaria as a public health issue to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

Why can't some pregnant women, like Moyinoluwa in Nigeria, take the typical antimalarial medications?

Moyinoluwa, who is HIV positive, takes preventive treatment for opportunistic infections. This medication prevents her from using the standard antimalarial drugs, leaving her at higher risk for malaria during pregnancy, which could harm both her and her baby.

How does malaria affect maternal health in regions like Thailand?

In Thailand, Lamai faces the constant fear of malaria transmission after giving birth. Though preventive medicines for malaria exist, there are few options to prevent relapses, especially for Plasmodium vivax malaria, the most common type in Asia, making it a significant concern during breastfeeding.

What specific challenges do women like Lamai face after childbirth in malaria-endemic areas?

After childbirth, women like Lamai face the risk of malaria relapse, which is difficult to prevent due to limited antimalarial options for breastfeeding women. This adds to their anxiety, as their immunity may be compromised post-delivery.

How does the exclusion of pregnant women from drug trials impact malaria treatment development?

Excluding pregnant women from drug trials has led to a significant gap in data regarding the safety and efficacy of antimalarial treatments for pregnant women. This has delayed the development of safe and effective drugs, making it harder to address the specific needs of pregnant women at risk of malaria.

What is the broader goal of the MiMBa strategy in the fight against malaria?

The MiMBa strategy aims to close the data, time, medicine, and access gaps by accelerating the development of antimalarial drugs for pregnant women, ensuring that new drugs are effective from the start, and increasing the availability of these drugs, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.