Conference Abstract | Volume 9, Abstract 045 (ConfProc7) | Published: 30 Jun 2026
Ronald Anane1,2,&, Maame Addae1, Delia Bandoh1,2, Dora Dadzie1,3 , Ernest Kenu1,2
1Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Accra, Ghana, 2University of Ghana School of Public Health, 3National Malaria Elimination Programme, Accra, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Ronald Anane, Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Accra, Ghana, Email: ronald.anane@gmail.com
Received: 29 Aug 2025, Accepted: 28 Oct 2025, Published: 30 Jun 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Malaria, Ashanti Region, pregnant women, ITNs, IPTp, incidence, coverage
©Ronald Anane et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Ronald Anane et al. Ecological analysis of incidence of malaria in pregnancy in Ashanti Region, Ghana, 2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfProc7):045. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO7-0045
Malaria disproportionately burdens pregnant women in Ghana’s Ashanti Region. Despite routine implementation of preventive interventions, coverage disparities across districts may undermine malaria control progress among pregnant women. We assessed malaria incidence patterns and the relationship between intervention coverage and incidence among pregnant women in Ashanti Region.
We conducted an ecological analysis of DHIMS2 data (2015-2024) from 43 districts in Ashanti Region. Malaria incidence and intervention coverage (ITN use, IPTp uptake) were analyzed descriptively. Correlation and multivariable regression were applied to assess associations between incidence and intervention coverage, with 95% confidence intervals and p<0.05 considered statistically significant.
Overall malaria incidence was 35.2% across 2015-2024, with wide inter-district variation. The highest incidence occurred in Sekyere Afram Plains (837 per 1,000; ITN coverage 2.8%) and Bekwai (803.7 per 1,000; ITN 17.6%), while Kwadaso (42.2 per 1,000) and Oforikrom (44.6 per 1,000; ITN 15.7%) reported the lowest. Average ITN coverage was 28.1% (range:1 – 75%), and IPTp1 coverage was 66%, declining across subsequent doses. Regression analysis showed the southwest zone had the highest malaria incidence (β=30.36; 95% CI: 17.68 43.03; p<0.001). Each 1% increase in IPTp2 coverage corresponded to a 19.5% reduction in malaria incidence (95% CI: 10.1 21.8; p<0.001).
These findings suggest that poor IPTp and ITN coverage contribute to the persistently high incidence in specific districts.
Significant disparities in malaria incidence and intervention coverage persist across districts in the Ashanti Region. Targeted approaches, including door-to-door ITN distribution, incentivised IPTp completion, and engagement of local leaders to address misinformation, are needed to close coverage gaps and reduce malaria morbidity among pregnant women.
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