In-vivo Efficacy and Safety of Artemether/Lumefantrine Vs Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria and Assessment of Parasite Genetic Factors Associated With Parasite Clearance or Treatment Failure

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients aged between 6 months - 10 years, without severe malnutrition and with a slide-confirmed mono-infection of P. falciparum, and asexual parasitemia between 250 - 200000 asexual parasites/µl will be included. * Other inclusion criteria will include, absence of dangers signs (see Exclusion Criteria), axillary temperature \> 37.5oC or a history of fever within the past 24 hours and ability to swallow oral medications. * The ability and willingness to attend scheduled follow-up visits and an informed consent provided by parent or guardian will also be considered as important inclusion criteria without which a patient will not be enrolled into the study. * Patients shall not be excluded on the basis of reported prior treatment with other anti-malarial drugs other than DHA-PQ within the past 24 hours if they have fever (axillary temperature \> 37.50C) and parasitemia. * Patients should have stable residence within the catchment area throughout the study period Exclusion Criteria: * The exclusion criteria will include: presence of general danger signs or signs of severe falciparum malaria according to the definitions of WHO (Appendix 6), severe anaemia (Hb \< 5 g/dL) and mixed or mono-infection with species other the P. falciparum. * Others will include severe malnutrition (defined as a child whose growth standard is below -3 z-score or symmetrical oedema involving at least one of the feet or a mid-upper arm circumference \< 110 mm. * Patients with febrile conditions due to diseases other than malaria (e.g. measles, acute lower respiratory tract infection, severe diarrhoea with dehydration) or other known underlying chronic or severe diseases (e.g. cardiac, renal and hepatic diseases and HIV/AIDS) will be excluded. * Furthermore, patients under regular medication, which may interfere with anti-malarial pharmacokinetics and those with a history of hypersensitivity reactions or contraindications to the artemisinin-based therapy, piperaquine or the alternative treatment, will not be included into the study