Clinical trials

This study assesses the immunoprevalence (presence of the induced T-cell response across different patients (and thus HLA types) of six prioritized IPX-derived Leishmania antigens, using Good Laboratory Practice-grade soluble Leishmania antigen (GLP-SLA) as a positive control. Longitudinal GLP-SLA stimulation validates its IFN-γ release assay performance to support licensing of a QuantiFERON-like test (Leish-IGRA) for treatment monitoring. IPX-derived Leishmania antigen screening focuses on day 0 and EOT, while GLP-SLA includes all timepoints. Induced T-cell responses by ex vivo stimulation of blood and tissue samples (lesion, bone marrow, or spleen) from patients with cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis (two-centre cohort) before and after treatment will be verified. Samples from Ethiopian 'non-infected' healthy volunteers will be included in parallel to differentiate from Leishmania antigen-specific versus aspecific T-cell activation. The induced T-cell response will mainly be determined by the expressed IFN-γ levels after stimulation. Additional analyses are included to further characterize the activation and cytokine profiles of these IPX-derived Leishmania antigen-specific T-cells, while the breadth of the T-cell response will be determined by mapping the response across different patients (and thus different HLA types).

Background: Female university students in Ethiopia experience a high burden of sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, and psychosocial problems, exacerbated by limited access to essential health services and support. Mobile technology provides an opportunity to deliver accessible, evidence-based health interventions. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile technology-based intervention in improving SRH, nutrition, and psychosocial well-being among female university students in Ethiopia. Methods: A concurrent mixed-methods study will be conducted among first-year female university students. Baseline quantitative and qualitative assessments will identify needs, barriers, and facilitators. A randomized controlled trial will evaluate a comprehensive mobile health education intervention delivered monthly. Quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data will undergo thematic analysis. Expected Outcomes: Improved sexual and reproductive health, dietary practices, and psychosocial well-being among female university students. Duration and Budget: The project will be implemented over the proposed study period with a total budget of 1,208,564 Ethiopian birr.

Despite the evidence of the prevention and control measures of tuberculosis (TB), it still has an impact on the health, social, and economic aspects of the population. Specifically, tuberculosis in children and newly diagnosed TB cases show there is current transmission of TB; to reduce this transmission and to attain the end TB strategy, preventing household TB transmission plays a great role. However, initiation and completion of TB preventive therapy (TPT) among close contacts of index TB patients are suboptimal. Some of the identified factors of low TPT initiation and completion are insufficient patient education, inadequate understanding of TPT, health professionals' perception, parental knowledge, and belief. The digital health intervention is currently being studied as a suggested health intervention that improves the utilization of health care services, including treatment adherence. A systematic review shows that TB treatment outcomes improved with the use of patient education, counseling, text reminders, and digital health technologies. However, other literature indicates controversial results, including our systematic review result, which identified that video directly observed therapy and text message (digital intervention) have no significant effect on TPT completion. In addition, the studies are scarce; therefore, this study aims to assess the effect of video-based education intervention combined with text message reminder (digital health intervention) in improving the initiation and completion of TPT among close contacts of drug-sensitive pulmonary TB patients in South Ethiopia. The study hypothesizes that digital health intervention for close contacts of index drug-sensitive pulmonary TB patients will lead to higher TPT initiation and completion rates than standard care.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the "Mittin" intervention can improve women's ability to manage their fertility in line with their preferences among women aged 15-49 using hormonal contraceptives or intrauterine devices and attending public health centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the Mittin intervention increase preference-aligned fertility management, contraceptive method satisfaction, and preferred contraceptive method use among participants compared to standard care? Researchers will compare women's outcomes in health centers providing the Mittin intervention to women's outcomes in health centers that offer standard care to see if Mittin improves women's ability to act in line with their contraceptive preferences. Participants will * Receive either standard contraception services (control arm) or enhanced services (intervention arm) * Participate in a survey at the beginning of the study * Participate in surveys 4 and 8 months later

Background: High prevalence of alcohol-consumption among conflict-affected population has been reported in some low-and-middle income countries. However, studies that assess the effectiveness of screening and brief-intervention (SBI) in the reduction of unhealthy alcohol consumptions among conflict-affected hospital outpatients in Tigray are insufficient. Objective: This study aims to test the effectiveness of Screening and Brief-Intervention (SBI) in the reduction of unhealthy alcohol consumptions among conflict-affected hospital outpatients in Tigray. Method: About 1260 outpatients will be screened for alcohol consumption using Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Those who will have "8-19" scores in the AUDIT will be allocated to "Intervention" and "Control" groups using block randomization and they will be followed at 6 and 12 months of follow - up. The Intervention group will receive simple advice, brief-counseling and 6-and 12-months follow-up screening of alcohol consumptions. However, outpatients in control group will only receive 6- and 12-months follow-up screening of alcohol consumptions. Data will be entered to and will be analyzed using SPSS V 26. Means, standard deviations and percentages will be used for descriptive statistics. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, at 95% of confidence interval and p-value of \<0.05, will be used to identify correlates of alcohol consumption. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test will be used to compare AUDIT mean scores of normally and none-normally distributed continuous variables between intervention and control groups respectively.

Background: Cardiometabolic multimorbidity is rising globally and in Ethiopia, yet many patients still receive little or no structured dietary education in chronic care settings. Although nutrition counselling has been studied in single conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, no prior research has evaluated its effectiveness among patients with cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Because people living with multiple chronic diseases have more complex dietary needs and greater self-management challenges, evidence from single-disease groups cannot be assumed to apply to them. In Ethiopia, it remains unknown whether nutrition counselling can improve dietary adherence, clinical outcomes, or nutrition related quality of life in this population. Objective: To examine the effect of nutrition counselling on dietary adherence, clinical outcomes, and nutrition related quality of life among patients with cardiometabolic multimorbidity in South Wollo, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A two-arm, parallel, cluster randomized controlled trial across 14 hospitals, with seven hospitals assigned to the intervention arm and seven to the control arm will be conducted. Adult patients diagnosed with two chronic conditions (type 2 diabetes and hypertension) will be recruited using systematic random sampling, resulting in a total sample size of 308 participants. The intervention group will receive nutrition counselling guided by the COM-B Model and adapted from national and international dietary guidelines. Six individualized counselling sessions will be delivered over a period of three months. The control group will continue to receive routine care. Dietary adherence, clinical parametres, and nutrition related quality of life will be outcome variables. Generalized structural equation modeling will be used to analyze dietary adherence, while structural equation modeling will be applied for clinical parametres and nutrition related quality of life. Results will be presented as adjusted estimates with 95% confidence intervals. Expected outcomes: This study is expected to generate evidence showing whether nutrition counselling can improve dietary adherence, clinical outcomes, and nutrition related quality of life among patients with cardiometabolic multimorbidity. The intervention is anticipated to enhance patients' dietary practices, support better control of blood pressure and fasting blood glucose, and contribute to improved quality of life.

The study might come up with valuable findings to address poor treatment outcome, poor quality of life, disability score and depressive symptoms. The findings may also be decreased health professional workload. The findings would be supportive evidences for policy makers, program managers, to clinician as well as the patients themselves and for other researchers. The study may help to promote and maintain good treatment outcome for the patients in the study area as well as the country. The findings will also be used for teaching \& learning purposes in educational \& training programs.

This observational diagnostic validation study aims to evaluate the clinical performance of novel lateral flow and microfluidic-based technologies for the detection of upper and lower respiratory tract infections in children and adults presenting with respiratory symptoms in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Senegal. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. whether the novel multiplex lateral flow tests and point-of-care microfluidic platform demonstrate sufficient sensitivity and specificity for detecting respiratory pathogens compared with standard laboratory reference methods, and 2. whether these technologies are feasible and usable in low-resource clinical settings. Participants presenting with suspected respiratory tract infections as part of routine clinical care will provide respiratory and blood samples for diagnostic testing and biobanking, and demographic and clinical information will be collected during a single study visit. Some adult participants and community stakeholders will also complete surveys or interviews regarding the acceptability of biobanking and diagnostic implementation.

Study setting: The study will be conducted from May 1 to November 2026 in the West Shewa Zone. Objectives: To measure the effect of health education on birth preparedness and complication readiness practice among pregnant women in the districts of the West Shewa Zone in 2026 (Stepped Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial) Null hypothesis (H₀): There will be no difference in the proportion of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women between intervention and control periods. Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): Health education intervention on BPCR will result in a significant increase in the proportion of well-prepared pregnant women in the intervention periods across all study sites. The study population will consist of randomly selected pregnant women in selected public health centers in Districts of west shewa zone. The west shewa zone districts were selected by simple random sampling methods .Ejere, Ejersa Lefo and Holota districts were selected using simple random sampling .Then Five health centers namely Yaya , Olankomi, Gorba ,Ejere and Gilgel kuyu health centers from three districts of west shewa zone were selected. Will be then randomized to time of crossover (step) using computer-generated sequences. Because of this, the study design involves a sequential rollout where all groups eventually receive the health education intervention aimed at evaluating birth preparedness and complication readiness changes. At the beginning, the five clusters were identified by simple random sampling. Sequential allocation or randomly assigning each cluster to a specific wedge or starting point will be conducted. At the baseline all clusters begin in the control phase. During the steps (every month to six months) one or more clusters cross over to the intervention phase (implementing BPCR education). During the end phases, all clusters are in the intervention group. The study involves cohort sampling; the same pregnant women are followed through the entire study for six months. All eligible pregnant women attending antenatal care during defined periods in each cluster will eventually receive health education.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a long-term condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood effectively. It can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling in the legs, and reduced ability to perform daily activities. These problems often reduce a patient's quality of life and may lead to frequent hospital visits. This study will assess whether a mobile-based telemedicine program can improve the health-related quality of life of patients with chronic heart failure in Ethiopia. In this study, 70 adult patients with chronic heart failure will be included. They will be divided into two groups: 35 patients will receive routine care plus mobile-based telemedicine support, and 35 patients will receive routine care only. The mobile-based telemedicine program will include health education, medication reminders, lifestyle advice, and follow-up support delivered through phone calls and text messages over an 8-week period. Patients' quality of life will be measured at the beginning of the study and again after 8 weeks using a standard questionnaire called the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). The main goal of the study is to determine whether mobile-based telemedicine improves quality of life compared with routine care alone. The study may also help improve self-care behaviors, medication adherence, and symptom control among patients with heart failure. The findings may provide evidence to support the use of mobile health technologies as a simple and scalable approach to improve heart failure care in Ethiopia.

Snakebite Envenomation is recognised as a Neglected Tropical Diseases with high lethality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current syndromic treatment approach is also fraught by supply pipeline constraints and need for cold-chain, thus negatively impacting outcomes in resource limited settings. Despite the lack of clinical outcome data from studies in humans, after a comprehensive risk-benefit assessment, the World Health Organisation (WHO), in May 2023, recommended the use of Premium-PANAF polyvalent snake antivenom that is lyophilised, and therefore does not require cold-chain conditions. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also updated its treatment protocol with Premium PANAF being standard of care since June 2025 at Abdurafi (Midre Genet) Health Centre in north west Ethiopia. Real-world effectiveness by means of Phase IV post marketing studies or pharmacovigilance programmes in countries where it has recently been rolled out is not yet available. This prospective observational cohort study, with a capped sample size of 600 patients, would thus provide much needed evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Premium-PANAF in resource limited settings to help inform national and international treatment guidelines.

The study examines surgical site infections and antimicrobial resistance following life-saving surgeries like C-sections and leg fracture repairs in Ethiopia. It does not include healthy volunteers because it specifically focuses on patients who require these urgent operations due to medical necessity. Eligible participants are those undergoing these specific procedures at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital or other participating public hospitals. While the birth-related portion is for females, the trauma portion includes both men and women, generally of reproductive or working age with no upper age limit. People are excluded if they are having elective surgeries, cannot provide consent, or cannot be reached for the two-year follow-up period. The researchers use a mixed intervention based on the "Clean Cut" safety bundle, which includes staff training, surgical checklists, and regular audits. The main goals are to measure infection rates within 30 days of surgery and track how well patients can function in their daily lives using the WHODAS scale up to 24 months later.

This study will look at how feasible it is to use thermotherapy (TT) as a treatment for skin(cutaneous) leishmaniasis (CL) in health centers in the Sodo and South Sodo districts, Ethiopia. The main questions the investigators want to answer are: * Is it practical, acceptable, and suitable to use thermotherapy for treating skin leishmaniasis in these health centers? * How effective is thermotherapy in treating skin leishmaniasis in this setting? Health centers that do not offer thermotherapy will be used as a comparison group. Patients with CL in these areas will be monitored for up to 3 months before being sent to centers that provide thermotherapy. Participants will be checked at a nearby health center to see if they meet the criteria for the study and then will be recruited. Patients with skin lesions will receive thermotherapy using the ThermoMed device, which heats the area to 50°C for 30 seconds. Their progress will be checked every 4 weeks until day 90. Depending on how well they respond, thermotherapy may be repeated at 4 or 8 weeks.

The ENABLE study focuses on pregnant women attending routine antenatal care (ANC) in urban primary health care facilities in four Ethiopian cities. Many women in this setting face increased health risks due to unhealthy diets, low physical activity, and exposure to air pollution which can affect both maternal and newborn health and increase the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) later in life. In this study, pregnant women in intervention health centers receive structured, tailored counseling as part of their regular ANC visits. This counseling supports healthier eating, physical activity and reduced exposure to air pollution. Health care providers, including health workers in health centers and Urban Health Extension Professionals (UHEPs), are trained to deliver this counseling supported by a digital ANC eRegistry for clinical decision-making, which enhances adherence to national guidelines, and strengthens the quality of care. Facilitators further strengthen the intervention's implementation by ensuring fidelity to counseling protocols and by adapting content to the Ethiopian urban health system context. The study hypothesis is that integrating lifestyle counseling into routine ANC will improve maternal health behaviors and pregnancy outcomes, and reduce NCD risk among pregnant women, compared with standard routine ANC alone. By embedding NCD prevention within routine maternal health services, the ENABLE study aims to strengthen the role of ANC as a platform for early prevention and long-term health benefits for women and their children.

Small Quantity Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS), are fortified, lipid-based nutritional supplements that were specifically designed for children 6-24 months to prevent malnutrition. Recent research has shown reductions in mortality, severe wasting, severe stunting, iron deficiency anemia, and developmental delays. SQ-LNS is currently available in individual daily dose packets of 20g. Healthy children age 6-24 months receive 1 packet per day (1dp), and are typically given a 1- or 2- month supply at a time (30-60 packets). Recently, Nutriset Développement has developed a new packaging design for SQ-LNS that reduces the cost by over 15% overall, through production efficiency with 40% less packaging, and improved transportation efficiency by 20%. This new packaging is a 140g packet that will allow 20g to be dispensed daily for 7 days (7dp). The packaging has a chamber that will allow for accurate 10g dosing (either twice daily, or twice at once). Users of the packaging will also be able to close the spout to minimize risk of microbiological contamination. Edesia Nutrition is working with Nutriset to conduct field testing of this new packaging for SQ-LNS, and this mixed-methods study in North Shoa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, will help inform recommendations for the future use of the package. The study seeks to determine (1) the acceptability of integrating SQ-LNS distribution into the malnutrition program; (2) whether adherence to the 2 different package types differs, and if there are differences in usage; (3) and how the packages perform over time, their perceived safety and functionality, and how they are stored. Educational and communication tools will be developed and pre-tested as part of this study, and will become part of the final deliverable package to Edesia Nutrition, in addition to final recommendations on the product packaging, findings about how the packages are used, and behavior change and nutrition education strategies. The primary outcome of the quantitative evaluation will be adherence, calculated as the number of delivered doses of SQ-LNS divided by the number of expected doses per week (7). Adherence will be measured via weekly self-report via caregiver interview and counts of return of used and unused packages during weekly home visits. The percentage of children who receive a dose during structured observation periods will be calculated. Each adherence outcome will be analyzed separately.

To assess the feasibility, safety, and clinical performance of community-based breast cancer screening incorporating clinical breast exam and short-termed trained examiners performing AI-supported breast POCUS for triage in limited-resource settings.

Brief Summary: Improving Maternal and Child Health via Indigenous Structures The goal of this cluster randomized controlled community trial is to assess the effect of community-based interventions using indigenous community structures on the improvement of health and nutritional status in pregnant women (recruited before 16 weeks of gestation) and their children in Northwest Ethiopia. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does a community-based intervention using indigenous structures significantly improve the uptake of maternal health services (ANC, delivery, and PNC)? * Does the intervention effectively reduce the prevalence of maternal depression during the pregnancy and postpartum periods? * To what extent does the intervention improve the nutritional status (reducing thinness and stunting) of mothers and their children? Researchers will compare a group of women receiving counseling from trained indigenous social support groups to a control group receiving only the routine health and nutrition education provided by the standard healthcare system to see if the indigenous approach leads to better health and nutritional outcomes. Participants will: * Receive four counseling sessions during pregnancy (starting before 16 weeks of gestation) and four additional sessions during the lactation period, conducted in their homes by trained social support groups. * Receive educational leaflets containing core health and nutrition messages and appropriate pictures. * Participate in two rounds of surveys (baseline, and endline) involving interviewer-administered questionnaires. * Undergo physical measurements, specifically mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), to assess nutritional status.

A balanced diet is critical for preschool aged children; meals must be sufficiently diverse to provide the essential nutrients required for rapid physical and cognitive development. Because dietary habits established in early childhood often persist into adulthood, prioritizing this age group is a cost-effective investment in long-term national health and productivity. However, the National Food Consumption Survey in Ethiopia indicates a significant gap in dietary quality, with only 20% of households across all age groups consuming five or more food groups. Implementing multi-component nutrition interventions is essential, as these strategies significantly influence both the eating habits and dietary preferences of preschool children.

Skin-related Neglected Tropical Diseases (Skin NTDs) affect about 1.8 billion people worldwide, particularly in poor and rural communities where healthcare access is limited. Many people rely on frontline health workers (FHWs) for treatment, but these workers often lack specialized training in skin diseases, making diagnosis difficult. To address this challenge, the SkincAIr project is testing whether a mobile app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can help FHWs improve their ability to detect Skin NTDs. The study will be conducted in two arms. In the first clinical image data collection arm (36 months), dermatologists in 5 countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) will collect images of skin NTD and other skin conditions that will be used for development and training of the AI model within the SkincAIr app before it is tested among FHWs. The second validation study arm will take place in 3 countries (Kenya, Ethiopia and Senegal), and will involve 50 FHWs and around 750 patients in each country over 24 months. During the first 12 months (Phase A), FHWs will diagnose patients using standard methods without the app, establishing baseline performance on key indicators including diagnostic accuracy, time to diagnosis, referral patterns, and cost implications of improved primary-level diagnosis. For the following 6 months (Phase B), FHWs will use the SkincAIr app with AI functionality activated to support diagnosis and enable real-time geolocated disease mapping and hotspot identification. In the final 6 months (Phase C), the app is withdrawn to assess whether FHWs retain their improved diagnostic skills. We will summarize the results using simple numbers and charts to show how often things happen and what the average results look like. Researchers will evaluate how well the app improves diagnosis by FHWs and whether FHWs retain their improved skills even after AI support is removed, by comparing their results with those of a skin specialist (dermatologist). Interviews and group discussions will be recorded, written down, organized into key ideas, and carefully reviewed using a computer program to understand the main themes. Study findings will be shared with National Ministries of Health, presented at local and international conferences, and reported to relevant institutional and regulatory authorities. If successful, this AI tool could boost early detection of skin diseases, enhance disease tracking, and improve healthcare in underserved areas.

The R-SWITCH intervention aims to address the low coverage of treatment for severe wasting (SAM) by leveraging existing community groups to deliver an integrated package focused on prevention, screening, referral, and treatment of SAM. It includes behavior change communication on child nutrition and health, active screening, improved passive screening at health posts, and follow-up of referred cases and those enrolled in outpatient treatment programs (OTP). The primary objectives of the R-SWITCH studies are to assess the intervention's impact on OTP coverage, identify implementation barriers and facilitators, and evaluate its cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

The resilience of P. vivax to malaria elimination efforts is due to its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that reactivate weeks to months after the initial infection causing recurrent episodes of malaria (relapses) and ongoing parasite transmission. Relapses account for a majority of recurrent infections and clinical cases of P. vivax malaria, and therefore have a significant effect on morbidity at the individual level. With current technology, it is not possible to directly measure hypnozoite biomarkers. Rather than directly detecting hypnozoites, our team developed an indirect approach by measuring antibodies induced by the primary blood-stage infection. Antibodies to different blood-stage antigens decay at different rates. Measuring antibodies to a carefully selected panel of P. vivax antigens can aid to identify individuals who have been infected within the previous 9 months (approximately the lifespan of hypnozoites). A serological test based on selected P. vivax antigens can detect recent exposure and predict future relapses. Coupling this test with a safe and efficacious primaquine treatment regimen, results in a population-based intervention to target the hypnozoite reservoir. This intervention is referred to as Plasmodium vivax Serological Testing and Treatment (PvSeroTAT). PvSTATEM is a cluster randomised trial in Madagascar and Ethiopia. This study will provide insights into the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the PvSeroTAT approach. In this study, individuals, randomised by clusters, will be tested for the presence of serological markers of a recent P. vivax infection, followed by a targeted drug treatment intervention aimed at killing P. vivax hypnozoites.

The aim is (1) to better understand the underlying causes and predispositions for relapse and parasite persistence in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients living with HIV and (2) to improve treatment monitoring of this target group in Ethiopia

Background: Tuberculosis (TB), though preventable and curable, remains a major public health concern worldwide. While elimination of tuberculosis infection (TBI) is critical to TB elimination, TBI continues to represent a substantial public health burden, particularly among household contacts. In recent years, tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) has been recognized as essential to eliminating TB worldwide and is particularly critical for children with TBI or close contacts of individuals with infectious TB. The scale-up of TPT among household contacts has been markedly slow, with only 55% of the coverage target achieved for children under 5 years and only 10% for those over 5 years by 2022, highlighting substantial gaps in preventive intervention implementation. Community- and home-based approaches are proposed solutions to reduce the gaps in early detection and provision of preventive treatment for household contacts in high-TB-burden settings many of whom remain underserved with the usual standard facility care. A home-based approach has not been well evaluated for its effectiveness in real-world settings to inform policy decisions. Given the limited evidence, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based TB contact investigation and preventive treatment management among child household contacts in southern Ethiopia. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based TB contact investigation and preventive treatment management among child household contacts in Gedeo, South Ethiopia. Methods: A pragmatic, two-arm, parallel, cluster-randomized trial will be conducted in Gedeo, South Ethiopia. The procedures in this trial will be based on eight clinical standards for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of TBI, which were defined through a Delphi process by a panel of global experts in tuberculosis care. This trial consists of two study groups: a home-based intervention group and a standard facility-based (usual care) comparison group. Within the intervention group, health extension workers based at health posts in the catchment areas of the selected clusters will receive training focused on the study procedures-the implementation of standardized TB symptom screening protocols, TPT management and adherence support, and safety assessment and reporting. A routine TB care procedure will be implemented in the facilities randomized to the comparison group in accordance with national guidelines. Index patients will be asked to enumerate and bring all children below 15 years of age for TB screening and initiation of preventive treatment or anti-TB treatment accordingly.

Current treatment regimens to prevent relapsing malaria are too long. A shorter higher dose treatment could improve treatment outcomes, but this needs to be balanced against increased risk of side effects. Recent data from a trial in children in Papua New Guinea (PNG) suggests a shortened treatment of 3 days is safe and effective. Our multicentre trial will assess the safety and efficacy of an ultra-short primaquine course. This trial is expected to directly influence global treatment policies.

A non randomized observation study that is aiming to assess the safety and efficacy of high dose primaquine (1mg/kg per day over 7 days) among patients with intermediate (30-70%) G6PD activity and the safety and efficacy of weekly primaquine among patients who are g6Pd deficient (\<30% activity)