In Tienfala village in Mali, a child receives seasonal malaria chemoprevention medicine for children under five, which will help prevent the transmission of severe malaria.

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention is a relatively new approach recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2012. It involves the regular administration of anti-malarial medication during the rainy season to children between three and 59 months, the age group most at risk for severe illness and death. The children are given anti-malarials once a month throughout the three- to four-month high-risk season in order to maintain therapeutic drug levels in the blood.

Achieving Catalytic Expansion of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in the Sahel (ACCESS-SMC) is a UNITAID-funded project, led by Malaria Consortium in partnership with Catholic Relief Services. It will be reaching approximately 600,000 at-risk children across West Africa.

Photo by Michael Stulman/Catholic Relief Services