A Novel Cost-Effective Approach for Malaria Control: An Intermittent Preventive Treatment Program

Malaria is a significant global health issue, particularly impacting infants and contributing to high mortality rates. The WHO report revealed that malaria control efforts in 2023 suffered from a 4 billion funding shortfall, receiving less than half of the 8.3 billion needed to meet global targets. An intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) program effectively prevents malaria, but no optimal cost-control approach has yet been studied with an IPT program. So, we present an optimal control model for malaria control that incorporates four key control parameters: preventing vertical transmission, an IPT program, treatment, and vector control. We categorize interventions into four groups to evaluate the effectiveness of malaria control: Group 1: single control; Group 2: two controls combined; Group 3: three controls combined; and Group 4: all four controls combined. We obtain that the IPT is the most effective and most cost-effective intervention in Group 1. In Group 2, the combination of IPT and vector control is the most effective, while the combination of vertical transmission prevention and IPT is the most cost-effective. In Group 3, the most effective strategy is the combination of IPT, treatment, and vector control, whereas the most cost-effective strategy is the combination of prevention of vertical transmission, IPT, and treatment. When all four controls are implemented together, we get the highest efficacy index of 97.32%. We obtain that the IPT program is the core control parameter in the most effective and economical policy among all four groups. This research aims to assist policymakers in developing effective malaria control strategies and to allocate resources efficiently for maximum impact.