What happens when seasonal malaria protection stops for children in Mali
Official title: "Investigating the rebound effects of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in Mali"
Funded at Univ of Sciences, Tech & Tech of Bamako · NIH-11175434 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team is comparing children who regularly received seasonal malaria medicine with children who missed doses to learn how stopping the program when kids age out affects malaria risk in Malian children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Sciences, Tech & Tech of Bamako NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bamako, Mali) |
| Project start | September 5, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $130,758 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI169517-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11175434 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children in Mali—especially those who received seasonal malaria chemoprevention when under five or who missed doses—are the best candidates to participate.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, people living outside SMC areas, or children who were never exposed to seasonal malaria prevention are unlikely to benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
This project will follow a large group of children in Mali who either received the full seasonal malaria doses or missed some doses, and monitor their health after they age out of the program. Researchers will collect health records, malaria test results, and measures like anemia over time to track infections. The study compares children who were compliant with the four-dose regimen to those who were not to identify any increase (rebound) in malaria after stopping SMC. The work focuses on communities where SMC has been used nationwide and aims to use real-world data from those programs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could help guide SMC age limits or follow-up strategies to prevent increases in malaria among older children.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show SMC reduces malaria in children under five, but rising malaria in older children has been reported, so this large comparison is a new step to clarify those rebound effects.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of Sciences, Tech & Tech of Bamako
Bamako, Mali Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Toure, Mahamoudou — Univ of Sciences, Tech & Tech of Bamako
- Study coordinator: Toure, Mahamoudou
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.