SMC fact-file1 WHO recommends SMC with SP+AQ

in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, where Plasmodium falciparum remains sensitive to both antimalarial medicines, SP and AQ. A complete treatment course of SP+AQ should be given to children aged between 3 and 59 months at monthly intervals, during the malaria transmission season, beginning at the start of the season, to a maximum of four doses. SMC is complementary to existing malaria control interventions. It can be implemented alongside community case management of malaria. SMC in action In Senegal, SMC using trained community health workers was implemented in four districts through the health system. More than 890,000 courses of SP+AQ were administered to more than 180,000 children.3 High coverage was achieved and the intervention was well accepted by the community. Cost per monthly course per child was USD $ 0.50. SMC has been administered to more than 175,000 children between 3 months and 5 years of age in southern Mali and in two areas of Chad.4 Preliminary results from the programme show that the number of cases of simple malaria dropped by 65 % in the intervention area in Mali, and by up to 86% in Chad.4 A significant decrease in cases of severe malaria has also been recorded