Africa: Pregnant African women still vulnerable to malaria

Millions of pregnant women still lack adequate access to insecticide-treated bednets and intermittent preventive treatment despite belligerent efforts in the past decade, a study published in the Lancet shows. The study published Wednesday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal shows that Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPTp) and Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) are not being fully utilised to protect pregnant women from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study, which reviewed national control strategies from 47 countries across Sub- Saharan Africa, showed that 23 million pregnancies in 2007 were unprotected.