IPTp with SP has been shown to be effective in reducing maternal anaemia, prevalence of placental parasitaemia and the incidence of low birth weight. SP offers a reasonable combination of ease of use and associated increased compliance, low cost, and relatively good tolerance and safety. However, the useful therapeutic life (UTL) predicted for SP is likely to be short, in part due to its prolonged half-life, causing a higher probability of selecting resistant strains and consequent rapid development of resistance. The emergence and spread of SP resistance will increasingly undermine this strategy, depleting the currently available and affordable drugs usable for intervention during pregnancy. It is therefore important that alternative antimalarials that are safe and effective in pregnancy are identified.