Malaria treatment: no place like home.
If the United Nations Millennium Development Goals are to be met, there is a need to improve access to effective antimalarial treatment where the burden of malaria is highest. Health facilities are often bypassed by communities, and inappropriate and poor-quality self-medication is common. The home management of malaria (HMM) strategy has been shown to have an effect on malaria morbidity and mortality in the chloroquine era, but several evidence gaps remain to be filled to confirm its value in the era of artemisinin-based combination therapies. Nevertheless, if a substantial reduction of the malaria burden is to be achieved, access to effective medicines has to be vastly improved, and in most of sub-Saharan Africa, this will have to be through HMM.
Pagnoni
Franco
F
Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, CH 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. pagnonif@who.int
D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011634:Public Health
D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins