Table 1 Shows summaries of statements made by different focus group discussions (4 FGDs) with mother's/guardian's about SP

- SP is mixture of all drugs like Fansidar.

- SP is not good because it causes: swelling, body rashes, children dying.

- We are afraid of using it because it is too strong and kills people.

- My son became like a cobra-snake and got black like a charcoal after using SP.

- SP has no side-effects to me and when I use it cures my malaria.

-SP is a good drug, my son used it and has never fallen sick again.

- The drug is too strong and one needs to eat enough food.

- People are afraid of using the drug and we hate it and we don't give our children when they give us at the hospital.

- Now we are being forced at the hospital to give our children the drug under supervision of nurses.

-Parasite are resistant to CQ.

-SP is on research trial by the government.

- They want to see how many people will be killed by the drug.

- If drug was good, we would not find it plenty in our hospitals.

- We have nothing to do, but agree with what the government gives us as we are forced to use the drug.

- The Ministry of Health should work hard on sensitizing and educating the people.

- If you tell the doctors that you don't use SP he/she may listen to you and give an alternative drug or not it depends.

- We are treated with SP at the facilities for all illnesses.

- Doctors don't ask whether don't use SP.

- More research has to be done how to lower the dose and what causes these side effects.

- Educate people first about SP before introducing for large scale use.

- Nurses should educate mother's on how to take this drug and about side effects to be expected.

- Educate the news writers about the drug.

- The sulfa component should be removed from SP.

- We want doctors and nurses to properly inform us how to use SP whether without eating etc

- Nurses and doctors should be given seminars on how to properly treat malaria.

- Doctors should listen carefully to patients so that they can reduce the dose as the drug is too strong for weak people.

- Put in place drugs which are less strong for mild to moderate malaria and reserve SP for severe cases.

- When the children are sick we mothers take them to hospital.

- Father's directs us not to take SP.

- Father work to get money and most of the time they are out but they provide money.

- If the father is not at home and the child is sick I can't wait, I go myself to hospital or take any other immediate actions.

- We mother's are first child's doctors in our homes.

- Some men are lazy and sometimes they are drunk and do not care about the child.

- Most fathers' get involved when the child is seriously ill.

- At times we discuss with our husband's if they are at home, otherwise we brief them what transpired when they were not around.

- In most cases we involve them if the child's condition gets worse.

- The father mostly gives you money to go and buy drugs or as bus fare to send the child to hospital and very rarely they escort you.

- SP is advertised so much in newspapers, radio and television.

- They show people who gets affected by the drug after using it.

- They also put a name and a picture of a person who has been affected by SP.

- These news scare a lot of people who see or read them.

- We also here in radio that chloroquine is no longer working in treating malaria.