Organisational background

Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the comprehensive prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable and under privileged populations. We increasingly find our work on malaria can be effectively integrated with other similar public health interventions for greater impact and therefore expanded our remit to include child health and neglected tropical disease interventions.

We work in Africa and Asia with communities, governments, academic institutions, and local and
International organisations, to ensure effective delivery of services, which are supported by strong evidence.

Our areas of expertise include:
• disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment
• disease control and elimination
• systems strengthening
• research, monitoring and evaluation leading to best practice
• behaviour change communication
• national and international advocacy and policy development

Country and project background

Malaria is a major health issue in Burkina Faso. It is endemic throughout the country, with a seasonal upsurge from June through October. This seasonal peak is variable across the three major geographic zones linked with the duration of the rainy season: up to three months in the north, six months in the centre, and nine months in the south of the country.

Overall, Burkina Faso is among the ten countries with the highest number of malaria cases and deaths (3.3% of global malaria cases and 3.4% of global malaria deaths in 2021). Malaria is responsible for 43% of health provider consultations and 22% of deaths. The country accounted for an estimated 7% of total malaria cases in West Africa in 2020. Burkina Faso is among the 20 countries where the prevalence of exposure to malaria infection during pregnancy was 30% or more while maternal anaemia was over 40% in 2018. It was estimated that 50% of children under the age of five also had moderate or severe anaemia in 2018.
Burkina Faso has adopted the 2016 WHO antenatal care guidance and encourages early initiation of intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp), beginning at 13 weeks. The primary challenges to implementation of the guidelines remain a relatively late start to antenatal care for most pregnant women.
Maternal mortality remains a major concern despite the strategies implemented to reduce it. According to the latest population census (2019, Population general census), the maternal mortality rate is 222.9 per 100,000 live births, with a target of 231.69 by the end of 2023 according to the medium scenario from Three tracer results Action plan, MoH_2021.