Assessment of a combined strategy of seasonal malaria chemoprevention and supplementation with vitamin A, zinc and Plumpy'Doz™ to prevent malaria and malnutrition in children under 5 years old in Burkina Faso: a randomized open-label trial (SMC-NUT).

Malaria and malnutrition represent major public health concerns worldwide especially in Sub-Sahara Africa. Despite implementation of seasonal malaria chemoprophylaxis (SMC), an intervention aimed at reducing malaria incidence among children aged 3-59 months, the burden of malaria and associated mortality among children below age 5 years remains high in Burkina Faso. Malnutrition, in particular micronutrient deficiency, appears to be one of the potential factors that can negatively affect the effectiveness of SMC. Treating micronutrient deficiencies is known to reduce the incidence of malaria in highly prevalent malaria zone such as rural settings. Therefore, we hypothesized that a combined strategy of SMC together with a daily oral nutrients supplement will enhance the immune response and decrease the incidence of malaria and malnutrition among children under SMC coverage.