International Women’s Day calls for action to address biases, discrimination, and inequities that continue to impact the quality of life of women and girls, including their access to healthcare, such as malaria prevention and treatment. Pregnant women and their babies are among the most at risk from malaria, and this is exacerbated by their limited access to antimalarial medicines. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, nearly 12 million pregnant women were exposed to malaria, and they are particularly vulnerable as pregnancy can weaken their immune system. Malaria can have devastating effects on pregnant women and infants, from mothers with severe anemia and babies born with low birth weight to, in the worst case, the death of the mother and/or baby. According to research from 2020, one in ten maternal deaths in malaria-endemic countries is the result of malaria. 

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