MALARIA CONSORTIUM IN ZAMBIA
An accredited dispenser shows a mother the correct dosage after carrying out an RDT
Health systems strengthening Malaria Consortium’s seven-year Clover project funded by Irish Aid designed, tested and refined a health systems strengthening model for Zambia, using malaria prevention and control as an entry point. Key results from this project included the creation of district-level public-private Malaria Task Forces across 19 districts. The Malaria Task Forces target resource mobilisation to support better planning, implementation, coordination and dissemination of information. Other important results from Clover include improved skills and systems for the supply of medicines and health commodities, improved quality of care, strengthened health information management skills, and enhanced capacity and use of human resources. Malaria prevention and case management in the private and public sector Building on our work globally to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria, Malaria Consortium has supported the Zambian government in its efforts to combat malaria in the country by improving access to ACTs through the private sector. The Zambia Access to ACTs Initiative conducted research to determine if the uptake of ACTs would be improved by subsidised distribution of both ACTs and rapid diagnostic tests from accredited drug dispensers. A rigorous analysis of this means of distribution resulted in Malaria Consortium providing recommendations for retail prices, public awareness campaigns, training and accreditation programmes for drugstore dispensers.
Front cover photo: A trained CHW carries out an RDTs on a young child to test for malaria
Chomba Sinyangwe, Zambia Country Manager, E: [email protected] / T: +260 978779722 Doug Kirke-Smith, Africa Programmes Manager, E: [email protected] / T: +256 772 744 061 [email protected] / www.malariaconsortium.org / UK Registered Charity No. 1099776 Our Organisation Community based child health Much of Malaria Consortium’s more recent work in Zambia has been to capitalise on our global Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the experience in strengthening community level healthcare delivery and its links with formal health care. world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the comprehensive prevention, control and treatment Our four-year multi-countryICCM project, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency in Luapula Province, delivers life-saving interventions against the three biggest killers of malaria and other communicable diseases among of children under five in Zambia: pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, where access to health vulnerable populations. We have increasingly found our facilities and services is limited.Working closely with the Ministry of Health, Malaria Consortium work on malaria can be effectively integrated with other has helped train more than 1,300 community health workers (CHWs) in the management of these three diseases and ensured the supply of diagnostic tests and medicines. As a result similar public health interventions for greater impact and of behaviour change communication activities, this local level health delivery is now fully have therefore expanded our remit to include child health supported by the communities. and neglected tropical disease interventions. The work begun by ICCM-CIDA has been strengthened by a UK Aid funded research project (COMDIS HSD) which analyses the use of antibiotics by CHWs and care givers to help clarify Malaria Consortium works in Africa and Southeast Asia with whether or not ICCM controls or fuels antibiotic resistance. The research is on-going and the communities, governments, academic institutions, and local findings will be shared with the Zambian government on completion in 2013. and international organisations, to ensure effective delivery Further south in Livingstone District, Malaria Consortium conducted operational research of services, which are supported by strong evidence. Our focusing on the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) by CHWs. The findings indicated that CHWs are capable of using RDTs effectively and safely for at least 12 months post- areas of expertise include: training, which greatly improved the accuracy of malaria diagnosis. A follow-up study, which looked at the consumption of antimalarial artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) • disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment since the introduction of RDTs, reviewed data from the district over a two and a half year period. The findings showed the use of the tests significantly reduced the amount of ACTs • disease control and elimination dispensed as patients with fever were no longer presumptively treated for malaria. District • health systems strengthening Health Management Teams re-trained all health centre staff on the use of RDTs for malaria • research, monitoring and evaluation leading to best diagnosis and the number of reported malaria cases dropped considerably as a result of these interventions. practice CHWs discuss with facilitators and supervisors how to engage their communities • behaviour change communication • national and international advocacy and policy development
Our Programmes
Malaria Consortium has worked in Zambia since 2005 with an initial focus on health system strengthening. Over the years our work has also included assessments of the private sector’s potential role to increase access to effective malaria care and research on use of malaria diagnostics at community level. In recent years Malaria Consortium has been implementing a large scale integrated community case management (ICCM) project across Luapula Province. Our interventions have focused on the following areas: Our Organisation Community based child health Much of Malaria Consortium’s more recent work in Zambia has been to capitalise on our global Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the experience in strengthening community level healthcare delivery and its links with formal health care. world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the comprehensive prevention, control and treatment Our four-year multi-countryICCM project, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency in Luapula Province, delivers life-saving interventions against the three biggest killers of malaria and other communicable diseases among of children under five in Zambia: pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, where access to health vulnerable populations. We have increasingly found our facilities and services is limited.Working closely with the Ministry of Health, Malaria Consortium work on malaria can be effectively integrated with other has helped train more than 1,300 community health workers (CHWs) in the management of these three diseases and ensured the supply of diagnostic tests and medicines. As a result similar public health interventions for greater impact and of behaviour change communication activities, this local level health delivery is now fully have therefore expanded our remit to include child health supported by the communities. and neglected tropical disease interventions. The work begun by ICCM-CIDA has been strengthened by a UK Aid funded research project (COMDIS HSD) which analyses the use of antibiotics by CHWs and care givers to help clarify Malaria Consortium works in Africa and Southeast Asia with whether or not ICCM controls or fuels antibiotic resistance. The research is on-going and the communities, governments, academic institutions, and local findings will be shared with the Zambian government on completion in 2013. and international organisations, to ensure effective delivery Further south in Livingstone District, Malaria Consortium conducted operational research of services, which are supported by strong evidence. Our focusing on the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) by CHWs. The findings indicated that CHWs are capable of using RDTs effectively and safely for at least 12 months post- areas of expertise include: training, which greatly improved the accuracy of malaria diagnosis. A follow-up study, which looked at the consumption of antimalarial artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) • disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment since the introduction of RDTs, reviewed data from the district over a two and a half year period. The findings showed the use of the tests significantly reduced the amount of ACTs • disease control and elimination dispensed as patients with fever were no longer presumptively treated for malaria. District • health systems strengthening Health Management Teams re-trained all health centre staff on the use of RDTs for malaria • research, monitoring and evaluation leading to best diagnosis and the number of reported malaria cases dropped considerably as a result of these interventions. practice CHWs discuss with facilitators and supervisors how to engage their communities • behaviour change communication • national and international advocacy and policy development
Our Programmes
Malaria Consortium has worked in Zambia since 2005 with an initial focus on health system strengthening. Over the years our work has also included assessments of the private sector’s potential role to increase access to effective malaria care and research on use of malaria diagnostics at community level. In recent years Malaria Consortium has been implementing a large scale integrated community case management (ICCM) project across Luapula Province. Our interventions have focused on the following areas: MALARIA CONSORTIUM IN ZAMBIA
An accredited dispenser shows a mother the correct dosage after carrying out an RDT
Health systems strengthening Malaria Consortium’s seven-year Clover project funded by Irish Aid designed, tested and refined a health systems strengthening model for Zambia, using malaria prevention and control as an entry point. Key results from this project included the creation of district-level public-private Malaria Task Forces across 19 districts. The Malaria Task Forces target resource mobilisation to support better planning, implementation, coordination and dissemination of information. Other important results from Clover include improved skills and systems for the supply of medicines and health commodities, improved quality of care, strengthened health information management skills, and enhanced capacity and use of human resources. Malaria prevention and case management in the private and public sector Building on our work globally to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria, Malaria Consortium has supported the Zambian government in its efforts to combat malaria in the country by improving access to ACTs through the private sector. The Zambia Access to ACTs Initiative conducted research to determine if the uptake of ACTs would be improved by subsidised distribution of both ACTs and rapid diagnostic tests from accredited drug dispensers. A rigorous analysis of this means of distribution resulted in Malaria Consortium providing recommendations for retail prices, public awareness campaigns, training and accreditation programmes for drugstore dispensers.
Front cover photo: A trained CHW carries out an RDTs on a young child to test for malaria
Chomba Sinyangwe, Zambia Country Manager, E: [email protected] / T: +260 978779722 Doug Kirke-Smith, Africa Programmes Manager, E: [email protected] / T: +256 772 744 061 [email protected] / www.malariaconsortium.org / UK Registered Charity No. 1099776