Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Recovery Pattern of Malaria among Children Under Five Years Attending Ancilla Hospital, Ihitte Ezinihitte, Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria

Malaria remains a significant public health challenge, particularly affecting children under five years of age, who account for the majority of malaria-related morbidity and mortality globally. This study explores the prevalence of malaria among under-five children, focusing on its geographic distribution, risk factors, and diagnostic methods. Despite substantial progress in reducing malaria cases over the past two decades, high prevalence persists in subSaharan Africa and other endemic regions, with variability influenced by factors such as socio-economic status, access to healthcare, and the effectiveness of vector control measures. The study adopted a retrospective research design and was guided by three objectives and three research questions. The sample for the study consisted 183 under five children who attended Ancilla Hospital Ezinihitte Mbaise from 2020 to 2024. The instrument used for data collection is hospital records generated from the children’s files in the hospital. The research questions were answered using frequency counts and percentages. The findings of the study are that: the prevalence of malaria in under five children in Ancilla hospital across the five years studied is 77.10%; the key risk factors of malaria among under five children in Ancilla hospital from 2020 to 2024 are non-use of insecticide treated nets (92.90%), not cleaning the environment daily (87.90%) and lack of presence of screens/nets on doors and windows of homes (78.70%) and a recovery rate of less than three days was recorded for 8.50% of the children, 3-7 days for 91.50% of the children while none of the treated children took more than a week to recover. It was recommended among others that parents of under five children regularly use insecticide treated nets for their children to reduce malaria transmission.