Artemisine MedicinesPrevention timed to the season
In the Sahel and parts of eastern and southern Africa, most malaria occurs during a short, intense rainy season. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) means giving children a full curative course of antimalarial medicine every month during that season — whether or not they are infected — to clear existing infections and block new ones during the period of greatest risk.
The WHO recommendation
WHO gives SMC a strong recommendation: in areas of seasonal malaria transmission, children in the age groups at high risk of severe malaria should receive antimalarial medicines during peak transmission seasons. The standard regimen is sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine + amodiaquine (SP+AQ), delivered as monthly cycles — typically 3 to 5 cycles per season depending on local transmission length.
Key design points for programs
- Drug choice: WHO recommends a combination different from the country's first-line treatment, with well-matched pharmacology — which is why SP+AQ is used for SMC even where an ACT is first-line treatment.
- Age coverage: the classic target is children 3–59 months; evidence now also supports including children 60–120 months in some settings.
- Delivery: door-to-door community distribution achieves the highest coverage; each cycle is directly observed where possible.
- Resistance watch: SMC is not recommended where SP+AQ resistance is high — programs monitor molecular markers.
Procurement notes
SMC campaigns are volume-driven and time-critical: programs order full seasons of co-packaged SP+AQ blister courses months ahead of the rains. When sourcing, confirm co-blister packaging, pediatric-friendly formulation, and delivery lead times aligned to the transmission calendar.
Source: summarised in plain language from the WHO Guidelines for Malaria (10 September 2026), World Health Organization. This guide is for buyer education only — clinical decisions must follow the locally approved product insert and national treatment guidelines.
