TITLE:
Prevalence of Malaria among Pregnant Women Attending Midnimo and Jazeera Hospitals in Abudwak, Galmudug State, Somalia: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study
AUTHORS:
Hassan Ahmed Dirie, Saido Adan Bulhan, Osman Hassan Ali
KEYWORDS:
Malaria, Pregnant Women, Prevalence, Mosquito Net, Abudwak, Somalia
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol.16 No.4,
November
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Malaria during pregnancy remains an important maternal and fetal health concern in malaria-endemic and unstable-transmission settings. This study assessed the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women attending Midnimo and Jazeera Hospitals in Abudwak, Galmudug State, Somalia, and described selected socio-demographic and malaria-related characteristics. A descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted among 150 pregnant women attending the two hospitals. Participants were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, while malaria infection was assessed by microscopic examination of blood samples using Giemsa staining. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS, with descriptive statistics and chi-square tests used to examine distributions and selected associations. Of the 150 participants, 2 (1.3%) were malaria-positive and 148 (98.7%) were negative. Most participants were aged 28 - 37 years (46.0%), lived in urban areas (60.7%), were married (90.0%), and were housewives (84.7%). Most reported a previous history of malaria (91.3%), while 86.7% reported using a mosquito net. Fisher’s exact test showed no statistically significant association between malaria status and mosquito-net use (two-sided p = 1.000). Fisher’s exact testing should likewise be reported for education level after verification of the underlying 2 × 3 contingency table; the present manuscript does not contain the cell counts needed to reproduce that exact test. The observed prevalence was low in this hospital-based sample. Continued malaria surveillance, antenatal care, promotion of effective mosquito-net use, and further studies with larger probability-based samples and more sensitive diagnostic approaches are recommended.