Malaria Consortium

Malaria causes immense suffering. Each year, hundreds of millions of people are infected through mosquito bites, and hundreds of thousands die. Nearly three-quarters of these fatalities are children under the age of 5. For pregnant women in high-risk areas, malaria is the number one cause of death.

For less than seven dollars, a child can be protected for this time. The significant impact of these programs is supported by numerous studies.

The Problem

Every year, more than 200 million people worldwide still contract malaria, primarily on the African continent. For nearly 450,000 of them, the disease proves fatal, with 70% of the victims being children under five.[^1] Globally, one in ten child deaths is caused by malaria, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s one in five.[^2]

Even in cases where malaria does not result in death, the suffering is immense. In addition to flu-like symptoms, malaria can lead to lasting impairments in vision, hearing, or even epilepsy. The situation of those infected worsens as they not only face expenses for doctor visits and medication but also miss out on school or work during acute episodes.

The Solution

In many countries, the risk of contracting malaria depends on the season. The rainy season, when mosquitoes are most prevalent, is high season for malaria infections. The Malaria Consortium focuses on this period with its Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention program, which administers the antimalarial drugs Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine and Amodiaquine to prevent infection. This WHO-recommended, effective, and cost-efficient preventive measure has proven to prevent malaria cases.[^3] No significant side effects are known.

The Malaria Consortium trains staff to administer these medications to children in their homes. During malaria season, families are visited four times, once per month. Staff are instructed to administer the first dose of medication themselves and leave two additional doses with the parents to be given in the following days to ensure the child’s ongoing treatment.

According to GiveWell, the Malaria Consortium requires just under seven dollars to protect a child for the WHO-recommended four-month prevention period.[^4]

The Impact

Several randomized controlled trials show that malaria chemoprevention effectively reduces malaria incidence.[^5] A renowned “Cochrane Review” that aggregated various studies found that chemoprevention programs can prevent approximately 75% of clinical malaria cases. Even when malaria does occur, the prevention reduces severity—specifically lowering the risk of anemia, a common complication of malaria.[^6]

The economic benefits of reduced malaria infections are also substantial: every dollar spent on malaria prevention activities in African countries increases the country’s GDP by $6.75—an extraordinarily high return on investment.[^7]

The Organization

The Malaria Consortium was founded in 2003 and works to reduce the spread of malaria and other diseases in Africa and Asia. Currently, the organization operates in 12 countries, primarily conducting its chemoprevention programs in the Sahel region of the African continent.

To date, the Malaria Consortium has prevented more than 10 million malaria cases.[^8] The organization also conducts research and collaborates closely with governments to provide operational and technical support to national health systems.

Since 2016, GiveWell has rated the Malaria Consortium as a "Top Charity." The effectiveness of its chemoprevention programs has been demonstrated in numerous independent studies. The organization is known for its high transparency and cost-effectiveness and has further growth potential. GiveWell estimates that by 2023, the Malaria Consortium will need an additional $44.7 million to continue and expand its programs in Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria, and Togo.

Questions and Answers

Are there any side effects?

According to the WHO, the antimalarial drugs used for chemoprevention are safe for babies and young children at the recommended dosage. Side effects are extremely rare: in Senegal, where nearly 800,000 treatments with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine and Amodiaquine were conducted as part of seasonal malaria chemoprevention, no significant side effects were observed under intensive monitoring.[^9]

In the Cochrane Review with 9,533 participants, no single side effect was reported.[^6] In the past, the Malaria Consortium reported occasional cases of nausea and vomiting after medication intake, which was attributed to the bitterness and difficulty swallowing the tablets. Since the switch to water-soluble tablets with an orange flavor, these side effects have almost entirely disappeared.

Rarely, cases of diarrhea, itching, headaches, mild stomach pain, and rash have been reported.

Why is prevention not conducted year-round?

Although malaria cases do occur outside the high season, a year-round medication schedule is not advisable for several reasons:

Firstly, continuous, multi-year administration of the drugs to young children could pose unknown side effects. Outside of high season, mosquito nets are generally more suitable as protection (and, of course, are also recommended during high season). Secondly, continuous drug use increases the risk of mosquitoes developing resistance to the antimalarial drugs over time.[^5]

How are the costs of nearly $7 per four-month treatment calculated?

The $6.59 per four-month treatment per child is based on the weighted average costs of all treatments supported by the Malaria Consortium from 2015 to 2019. This already accounts for the fact that not all children received the medication in every month.

Costs include the expenses for medication, healthcare personnel, as well as all administrative and operational costs of both the Malaria Consortium and the participating governments (though the latter are not covered by the Malaria Consortium).

The detailed calculations can be reviewed here.

Will my donation potentially support other programs of the Malaria Consortium?

We recommend, based on the findings of the reputable research institute GiveWell, specifically donating to the Malaria Consortium's Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention program. Its effectiveness has been proven in independent, scientific studies, and its outstanding cost-effectiveness has been demonstrated. Therefore, we allocate all donations specifically for seasonal malaria chemoprevention.

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Website: www.malariaconsortium.org

Sources

[^1]: Fact Sheet on Malaria. World Health Organization. Link June 2018.

[^2]: Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie. Malaria. Our World in Data. Link December 2017.

[^3]: Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC). World Health Organization. Link May 2017.

[^4]: Top Charities - Malaria Consortium. GiveWell. Link.

[^5]: Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention. GiveWell. Link November 2018.

[^6]: Meremikwu MM, Donegan S, Sinclair D, Esu E, Oringanje C. Intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in children living in areas with seasonal transmission. Cochrane database of systematic reviews. Link February 2012.

[^7]: William Jobin. Suppression of malaria transmission and increases in economic productivity in African countries from 2007 to 2011. MalariaWorld Journal. Vol 5. No. 4. Link March 2014.

[^8]: Continuing the fight to shrink the malaria map in the Sahel. Malaria Consortium. Link July 2018.

[^9]: Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention with sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine in children. World Health Organization. Link July 2013.