The Association of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention with Educational Outcomes in Senegal, 2013-2019: A District-Level Ecological Analysis.

Abstract

Malaria negatively impacts childhood development and education outcomes. However, evidence on the effects of malaria control on education outcomes is limited. Since 2013, Senegal has scaled up routine monthly administration of malaria chemoprevention to young children during the peak malaria transmission season (i.e., seasonal malaria chemoprevention [SMC]) as a critical malaria control intervention. We conducted a district-level ecological analysis to determine whether large-scale implementation of SMC is associated with improved education outcomes. Using generalized additive mixed models applied to routine malaria intervention and education indicator data for the 2013-2019 period, we show that in comparison with non-SMC districts, districts that had received multiple SMC rounds had improved education outcomes, specifically enrollment, dropout and repetition rates, as well as pass rates of children completing primary school. Our findings highlight the broader benefits of SMC beyond malaria prevention and underscore its role in advancing educational attainment and human development goals in malaria-endemic settings.