A large randomised controlled trial in Burkina Faso is assessing the safety of weekly oral iron and folic acid supplementation in non-pregnant adolescent girls in terms of malaria risk and pregnancy and child health outcomes for girls who become pregnant.
This trial is a collaboration with the Clinical Research Unit in Nanoro, which is supported by the Ministry of Health. This is part of a co-ordinated initiative by the Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Health (NIH- USA) addressing the safety and efficacy of iron supplementation particularly in malaria endemic regions. This research includes the evaluation of other infection – nutrition interactions that compromise the health of mothers and babies, with a view to identifying pre-pregnant and periconceptional nutritional biomarkers of poor health outcomes.
In The Gambia, a double blind randomized placebo controlled trial of peri-conceptional multi-micronutrient supplementation on placental function and fetal growth in rural women (MRC laboratories, Dr Stephen Owens).
