The five continuum of care criteria that should accompany rectal artesunate interventions: lessons learned from an implementation study in Malawi.

Background: Rectal artesunate (RAS) is a World Health Organization (WHO) recommended intervention that can save lives of children 6 years and younger suffering from severe malaria and living in remote areas. Access to RAS and a referral system that ensures continuity of care remains a challenge in low resource countries, raising concerns around the value of this intervention. The objective of this study was to inform RAS programming, using practical tools to enhance severe malaria continuum of care when encountered at community level.