PMI Impact Malaria in Benin

PMI Impact Malaria (IM) is the flagship global service delivery project of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). To advance PMI’s goal of fighting malaria and saving lives, IM is partnering with Benin’s national malaria control program (NMCP) to identify ways to improve the coverage of pregnant women who have received the recommended doses of drug-based prevention of malaria during antenatal care visits.

To advance malaria service delivery in Benin, IM is working with the country’s NMCP and Ministry of Health to conduct a two-year study on the impact of Group Antenatal Care (GANC) on the uptake of intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp). GANC is a service delivery model in which pregnant women attend antenatal care sessions at health centers together in groups of up to 15. Another expected result of the study is to determine whether the results obtained from collecting data from the population of pregnant women attending ANC is representative of the general population.

Country Resources

Benin Malaria Summary PMI Webpage
Malaria Service Delivery Photos PMI Impact Malaria Photo Library

Malaria Country Context

Malaria remains a fact of life for billions of people around the world and is a leading cause of illness and death across sub-Saharan Africa, where it traps families in a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.

Benin’s entire population of about 11.2 million people is vulnerable to malaria, and it is the leading cause of mortality among children under five years of age and of morbidity in adults. While transmission is stable, it is influenced by several factors such as vector species, geography, climate and hydrography. The malaria parasite species Plasmodium falciparum causes the majority of infections.

Malaria continues to be a major public health problem in Benin, with an estimated 4.1 million cases and 7,300 deaths in 2018. About 40% of outpatient visits and 25% of all hospital admissions in the country are due to malaria. According to World Bank estimates, households in Benin spend approximately one-quarter of their annual income on the prevention and treatment of malaria, which places an enormous economic strain on the country.

Benin has made great strides in increasing IPTp uptake. The percentage of women who received at least two doses of IPTp during their last pregnancy reached 67% by 2017, up from only 23% in 2011. The WHO and the Benin Ministry of Health now recommend at least three doses of IPTp for pregnant women during antenatal care, so IM is supporting the country to find ways to further increase protection of women and their babies with at least three doses of IPTp.

This is PMI Impact Malaria’s geographic coverage in Benin:

Photo Credit: Nathan Miller/PMI, Benin

Sources: PMI’s Benin Country Brief, PMI’s Benin Malaria Operational Plan FY 2020, 2019 World Malaria Report Benin Country Profile, PMI Impact Malaria Benin, and Benin's NMCP

The information provided on this website is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.

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