The Soul Beat 219 - Malaria and Communication in Africa
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- MALARIA PROJECTS using sms to track medicines and mothers as community health workers...
- RESEARCH REPORTS on health worker motivation and SBCC to promote bednets...
- RESOURCES for vaccine advocacy and on children and malaria...
April 25 is World Malaria Day which seeks to raise awareness of malaria as a disease that is preventable and treatable, and to mobilise communities across the world to get involved in the fight against it. To commemorate this day, this issue of The Soul Beat e-newsletter includes a selection of programme experiences, studies, and resources from the Soul Beat Africa website, which look at a range of communication strategies - including community-based, multimedia, and advocacy strategies - being used to prevent, control, and treat malaria in Africa.
For more information about World Malaria Day, click here.
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MALARIA PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES
1. Medicine Tracking System (mTrac) - Uganda
Launched in December 2011, the Ugandan Medicine Tracking System (mTrac) is a nationwide SMS-based disease surveillance system seeking to address problems of stock-outs of life saving malaria medicine, such as artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs). The initiative uses SMS to transmit weekly Health Management Information System (HMIS) surveillance reports from nearly 5,000 health facilities and 8,000 medicine-distributing village health workers in Uganda. The data is automatically analysed by a central server with the data validated and disseminated through a web-based dashboard and via SMS alerts, providing the Ministry of Health and District Health Offices with timely, accurate figures with which to plan and monitor programmes and medicines.
2. Phalombe Malaria Communities Project - Malawi
Initiated in 2009 by Concern Universal, the Phalombe Malaria Communities Project uses radio programmes, posters, flyers, and malaria ambassadors to reach mothers and caregivers with information about malaria prevention and treatment. The project also works through Village Health Committees (VHCs), who conduct community awareness on malaria through home visits and net demonstrations. With the intent of reaching the various communities in the district, the Phalombe District Council (PDC) conducted community campaigns and road shows. According to Concern Universal, these campaigns reach 184,000 people per annum through the strategic use of community/national radios, which included dialogue sessions, news bulletins of malaria events, mass campaigns, and malaria songs.
3. Fighting Malaria in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar - Tanzania
Since 2006, RTI International has been working in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar to prevent and control malaria through integrated vector control interventions, such as indoor residual spraying (IRS), long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs), and application of larvicides, supported by behaviour change communication and training. Funded by the PMI and working with local partners, this has included a multi-media communication campaign, developing a schools-based educational component, improving detection and response through mobile phone-based information sharing, and building capacity of a wide range of health workers to collect and communicate information.
4. Project Muso Community Based Malaria Program - Mali
Operating since 2007, Project Muso's Community Based Malaria Program is a community-led system for malaria prevention and treatment in Yirimadjo, Mali working to reduce malaria deaths by strengthening the primary health care system as a whole, providing education about malaria prevention, and providing universal bednet coverage to all community members. The project is organised around three principle strategies: assisting Community Health Workers (CHWs) to provide home-based diagnosis and treatment; operating a Solidarity Fund to remove financial barriers; and strengthening clinical infrastructure. Community Health Workers are local mothers who are trained, supervised, and supported to extend primary health care into the homes of community members.
5. United Against Malaria at Africa Cup of Nations - Africa
During The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2013 hosted in South Africa, United Against Malaria (UAM) worked with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to communicate malaria prevention and treatment messages to football fans throughout Africa. Through pan-African television and radio spots, video, on-site branding, and distribution of print and promotional materials, the campaign sought to reach millions of viewers and listeners with information about anti-malarial nets, diagnostics, and treatment. According to UAM, the strategy is primarily intended to reach men, from heads of households to heads of government and private sector, and to a lesser extent women who are also decision makers in government and households.
6. President's Malaria Initiative in Liberia - Liberia
The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), in partnership with the United Sates Agency for International Development (USAID and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), is working to reduce malaria related morbidity and mortality by 50% in Liberia by 2012, focusing on reaching pregnant women and children under 5 years of age with lifesaving services, supplies, and medicines. Running from October 2008 to September 2013, along with supporting the distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITN) and medication, the project is working to build capacity to prevent and respond to malaria, as well as promote awareness through dramas, music, radio, and television.
7. Hoima Public Library Health Service - Uganda
Operating since 2010, the Hoima Public Library Health Service is working to improve community health through using information and communication technology, public forums, and film screenings to communicate health information, with a particular focus on malaria. The National Library of Uganda provides technical support and resources, while experts from the Red Cross/Hoima Branch, the Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations, Hoima Nursing School, Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, and the Uganda Association of Private Vocational Institutions (UGAPRIV) offer lecturers for the public health forums and film shows.
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RESEARCH REPORTS ON MALARIA STRATEGIES
8. The Strategic Framework for Malaria Communication at the Country Level 2012–2017 [2012]
This document, published by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, outlines priorities for strengthening country capacity, honing programme strategies, and sharing best practices of evidence-based communication as part of the Partnership's work to control, eliminate, and ultimately eradicate malaria. According to the document, systematic communication to bring about sustained changes in social norms and behaviours is increasingly understood as integral to malaria control programmes. While there have been great successes, it is argued that there is now a need to focus on ensuring that evidence-based communication is positioned as a core component of global and national malaria control policy and is allocated the resources necessary to contribute to health impact.
9. Scope and Extent of Alternative Use of Bed Nets within the Arsi Zone in Ethiopia: Preliminary Findings from Household Interviews and Observations [May, 2012]
This report of a C-Change study in the Arsi Zone of Ethiopia examined the scope and extent of bed net use for alternative purposes, drawing comparisons between communities reached and not reached by complementary C-Change social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) activities. The study noted higher alternative use of bed nets in comparison communities not reached by SBCC activities. In communities reached by C-Change's SBCC interventions, the study found higher bed net use for malaria prevention and a narrower gap between bed net ownership and bed net use.
10. Developing Intervention Strategies to Improve Community Health Worker Motivation and Performance: Learning Paper [Jan, 2012]
By Tine Frank and Karin Källander
This learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s experience with Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) in malaria prevention and treatment in Mozambique and Uganda. ICCM is an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat, and refer complex cases of malaria (and other diseases) in children. This paper summarises the process adopted by the Innovations at Scale for Supporting Community Access and Lasting Effects (inSCALE) project for identifying the barriers to community health worker motivation and performance and documents identified solutions to these challenges.
11. Community Dialogues for Healthy Children: Encouraging Communities to Talk [Dec, 2012]
By Sandrine Martin
This learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s experience of engaging local communities in integrated community case management (ICCM) in Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia. Malaria Consortium has been implementing ICCM, an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat, and refer children under-five with pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria, in these countries since 2009. This learning paper looks at some key barriers to the early treatment of sick children and the interventions developed to address them, with a focus on the Community Dialogue (CD) approach. Preliminary findings drawn from the early stages of implementation show that CD has been a very effective way of identifying and filling information gaps, as well as encouraging community analysis and planning.
12. Cameroon Malaria Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Progress from 2011 to 2012 [Aug, 2012]
This report shares findings of progress related to Malaria No More (MNM) work in Cameroon, particularly MNM's contributions to the national K.O. Palu (Knock Out Malaria) campaign. To complement national bed net distribution, a coalition of health partners implemented a national malaria communication campaign under a unified brand, the "K.O. Palu" campaign. Centred on the Nightwatch model, which reminds people to sleep under a net every night, activities included a malaria anthem featuring Cameroon's top musicians, radio and television public service announcements (PSAs), roadside billboards, SMS messages, large public events, and press conferences making critical announcements regarding distribution activities.
13. Support to National Malaria Programme - Nigeria [Jun, 2012]
This paper presents an overview of the Support to National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP) achievements, experiences, and lessons in the course of programme implementation in Nigeria, highlighting implications for other partners and ministries of health involved in implementing malaria control activities SuNMaP works to improve aspects of malaria prevention and control in the country, from facilitating the distribution of nets and distributing preventive malaria treatment for pregnant women through antenatal clinics, to management capacity building within the Ministry of Health National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP). One of the lessons identified in the paper is that provision of commodities is not sufficient alone to bring about high coverage, knowledge among users of the effective and recommended interventions is needed and awareness of where services are available will help to promote prompt care seeking.
SOUL BEAT AFRICA MALARIA THEME SITE
To access more information about malaria and communication, please visit the Soul Beat Africa Malaria Theme site.
14. 10 Tips for Successful Malaria Vaccine Advocacy [Jan, 2012]
According to PATH, slow decision-making by policymakers can contribute to a substantial lag between the availability of lifesaving interventions, such as vaccines, and developing countries' access to them. This booklet presents a set of advocacy tips, success stories, and examples of advocacy efforts designed to bridge the worlds of science and policymaking and to help ensure that policymakers at national, regional, and international levels have the information they need to make timely and informed decisions as soon as a first malaria vaccine becomes available for use. These examples demonstrate that while simple actions - whether briefing policymakers, writing an opinion piece, or inserting a paragraph into a key speech - may seem to be small steps on their own, their collective impact can be significant over time.
15. Friends Against Malaria: Toolkit Guide [Dec, 2011]
Published by Novartis, this package of materials to stimulate discussion with children about malaria. Intended for children aged from 5 to 12 years old, this toolkit uses simple messages, games, story books, and a cartoon video to make learning about malaria interesting and fun. Novartis hopes that this kit will encourage parents to talk about malaria with their children, and to possibly extend the dialogue through primary schools, educational organisations, and other children's groups. The toolkit includes a guide, Leo & Kya storybook, colouring book, card games, and a bookmark.
16. Webinar on Best Practices for Community-Based Malaria Programs - Powerpoint Presentations [2010]
C-Change and the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (M-CHIP) organised a webinar on best practices in communication for community-based malaria programmes in September 2010. HealthPartners Uganda, Concern Universal Malawi, and grant recipients of the Malaria Communities Program (MCP) of the United States President's Malaria Initiative provided narrated PowerPoint presentations on how HealthPartners is applying behaviour change communication to prevent and treat malaria in Uganda. They also shared experiences from the Phalombe malaria communities project. The presentations share how the programmes link to a national strategy, discuss barriers to achieving positive malaria prevention and care behaviours, and how data and interventions are being used to address those barriers.
17. Malaria Through the Eyes of a Child [2012]
This book documents education activities in celebration of World Malaria Day 2011, and shares poems, stories, and drawings by children themselves about malaria. Bestnet and partners reached out to educate hundreds of school children on five continents about malaria and the protection provided by sleeping under Bestnet's Netprotect® LLINs. The children were asked to inform Bestnet about the devastating effects of this life-threatening disease through their own poems, stories and drawings. According to the publisher, the children’s thoughts and illustrations were so insightful, dramatic, and touching that Bestnet chose to share them by compiling them into this book.
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Malaria-related previous issues of The Soul Beat e-newsletter include:
The Soul Beat 195 - Communicating for Malaria Control, Prevention and Treatment in Africa
The Soul Beat 181 - Malaria Communication
To view all past editions of The Soul Beat e-newsletter, click here.
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