Sustained protection against mortality and morbidity from malaria in rural Gambian children by chemoprophylaxis given by village health workers.

Mortality and morbidity from malaria were measured in children for a one-year period in a rural area of The Gambia 3-4 years after the introduction of a primary health care programme into some villages in the study area. Among children resident in primary health care villages who received treatment for febrile illnesses from a village health worker resident in their village there was no reduction in overall mortality or in morbidity from malaria compared with levels found in villages without a primary health care worker. However, among children aged 3-59 months who received malaria chemoprophylaxis from a village health worker in addition to treatment there was a 49% reduction in mortality and a 73% reduction in attacks of clinical malaria. The level of protection against malaria achieved by chemoprophylaxis given by village health workers 3-4 years after the chemoprophylaxis programme was started was as high as that obtained shortly after the introduction of the primary health care programme.