The effect of providing fansidar (sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) in schools on mortality in school-age children in Malawi.

Malaria is a major cause of death in school-age (5-18 years) children in Malawi. Save the Children Federation helped schools in Mangochi District, Malawi, to obtain pupil-treatment kits, which enabled teachers to dispense sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine tablets according to national guidelines. The overall and malaria-specific mortality rates were calculated for the 3 years before and 2 years after the intervention was introduced; rates dropped from 2.2 to 1.44 deaths/1000 student-years and from 1.28 to 0.44 deaths/1000 student-years, respectively. School-based interventions could play a part in mitigating malaria.