Posts or Comments 19 March 2024

Monthly Archive for "April 2018"



Advocacy &Case Management &Community &IPTp &ITNs Bill Brieger | 30 Apr 2018

Burkina Faso Celebrated World Malaria Day with Pledges to Defeat Malaria

Burkina Faso celebrated World Malaria Day with pledges to Defeat Malaria on 25th April 2018. Dr Ousman Badolo. Technical Director of Jhpiego’s USAID/PMI Supported Improving Malaria Care (IMC) Project describes below the event in the village of Kamboinsin, not far from the capital, Ouagadougou. Ibrahim Sawadogo from IMC provided the photographs.

The day started with a proclamation of malaria day from Burkina Faso’s President, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, to his assembled cabinet and the press. The president recognized that malaria is still a major public health issue in the country, and while deaths are decreasing, the incidence of malaria is not. The President called for a greater commitment of resources by all partners to insure that malaria can be defeated in Burkina Faso by 2030.

Kamboinsin village in Sig-Noghin Health District was the site of further observances organized by the National Malaria Control Program, later that afternoon. This district was chosen because of having among the highest incidence rates for malaria in the region. Many partners set up booths to share their work in malaria with partners and citizens of the district. Included were three research centers (Centre Muraz, CNRFP and IRD), and three USAID programs supported by the President’s Malaria Initiative in Burkina Faso (Procurement and Supply Management [PSM], IMC and VectorLink), among others.

During the program both the Minister for Health and the US Ambassador spoke. The Minister highlighted the main strategies that Burkina Faso is employing to reduce and eliminate malaria including regular use of insecticide treated nets (ITN), seasonal malaria chemoprevention, Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp), Prompt and Appropriate Case Management and other Vector Control Strategies.

The US Ambassador shared a real-life story of a pregnant woman who during her current pregnancy decided to register early for Antenatal Care (ANC) as encouraged by the IMC project. She was able to get several doses of IPTp as required as well as obtain an ITN on her first visit, unlike in her previous pregnancies.

Entertainment was provided by the comedian Hypolythe Wangrawa (alias M’ba Bouanga) who presented a sketch involving his ‘son’ who was not encouraging his wife to attend ANC and receive malaria prevention services. M’ba Bouanga chastised the son and an actor playing a midwife explained to the family the value of attending ANC and preventing malaria. Singers Maria Bissongo, Miss Oueora and Aicha Junior provided the audience with a song that embodied a variety of malaria prevention and care messages.

A highlight of the occasion was recognition of high performing health districts in the country. They were judged on criteria including good management of malaria commodity stocks, reduced case fatality rates, use of diagnostic tests to confirm malaria before treatment and coverage of at least three doses of IPTp. Four districts were given awards, Titao, Thyou, Boussouma and Batie, while Charles de Gaul Pediatric Hospital was also recognized.

One can watch a video of the proclamation by the President on the National Facebook page. More details of the events are found in the following media: Lefaso.net and Paalga Observer.

World Malaria Day in Burkina Faso demonstrated the political will and commitment to “defeat malaria.” More and more national resources will be needed to reach the endline in 2030.

Advocacy &Case Management &Children &CHW &Community &Elimination &Funding &iCCM &Invest in Malaria Control &IPTp &ITNs Bill Brieger | 25 Apr 2018

On World Malaria Day the realities of resurgence should energize the call to ‘Beat Malaria’

Dr Pedro Alonso who directed the World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Program, has had several opportunities in the past two weeks to remind the global community that complacency on malaria control and elimination must not take hold as there are still over 400,000 deaths globally from malaria each year. At the Seventh Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Conference (MIM) in Dakar, Dr Alonso drew attention to the challenges revealed in the most recent World Malaria Report (WMR). While there have been decreases in deaths, there are places where the number of actual cases is increasing.

Around twenty years ago the course of malaria changed with the holding of the first MIM, also in Dakar and the establishment of the Roll Bank Malaria (RBM) Partnership. These were followed in short order by the Abuja Declaration that set targets for 2010 and embodied political in endemic countries, as well as major funding mechanisms such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. This spurred what has been termed a ‘Golden Decade’ of increasing investment and intervention coverage, leading to decreasing malaria morbidity and mortality. The Millennium Development Goals provided additional impetus to reduce the toll of malaria by 2015.

On Facebook Live yesterday Dr Alonso talked about that ‘Golden Decade.’ There was a 60% decrease in mortality and a 40% decreases in malaria cases. But progress slowing down and we may be stalled at a crossroads. He noted that history show unless accelerate efforts, malaria will come back with a vengeance. Not only is renewed political leadership and funding, particularly from affected countries needed, but we also need new tools. Dr Alonso explained that the existing tools allowed 7m deaths be diverted in that golden decade, but these tools are not perfect. We are reaching limits on these tools such that we need R&D for tools to enable quantum leap forward. Even old tools like nets are threatened by insecticide resistance, and research on alternative safe insecticides is crucial.

Dr Alonso at MIM pointed to the worrying fact that investment in malaria overall peaked in 2013. Investment by endemic countries themselves has remained stable throughout and never gone reached $1 billion despite advocacy and leadership groups like the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance. The 2017 WMR shows that while 16 countries achieved a greater that 20% reduction in malaria cases, 25 saw a greater that 20% increase in cases. The outnumbering of decreasing countries by increasing was 4 to 8 in Africa, the region with the highest burden of the disease. Overall 24 African countries saw increases in cases between 2015 and 2016 versus 5 that saw a decrease. A review of the Demographic and Health and the Malaria Information Surveys in recent years show that most countries continue to have difficulty coming close to the Abuja 2010 targets for Insecticide treated net (ITN) use, prompt and appropriate malaria case management and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp).

The coverage gap is real. The WMR shows that while there have been small but steady increase in 3 doses of IPTp, coverage of the first dose has leveled off. Also while ownership of a net by households has increased, less than half of households have at least one net for every two residents.

In contrast a new form of IPT – seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) for children in the Sahel countries has taken off with over 90% of children receiving at least one of the monthly doses during the high transmission season. Community case management is taking off as is increased use of rapid diagnostic testing. Increased access to care may explain how in spite of increased cases, deaths can be reduced. This situation could change rapidly if drug resistance spreads.

While some international partners are stepping up, we are far short of the investment needed. The Gates Foundation is pledging more for research and development to address the need for new tools as mentioned by Dr Alonso. A big challenge is adequate funding to sustain the implementation of both existing tools and the new ones when they come online. Even in the context of a malaria elimination framework, WHO stresses the need to maintain appropriate levels of intervention with case management, ITNs and other measures regardless of the stage of elimination at which a country or sub-strata of a country is focused.

Twenty years after the formation of RBM and 70 years after the foundation of WHO, the children, families and communities of endemic countries are certainly ready to beat malaria. The question is whether the national and global partners are equally ready.

Capacity Building &Human Resources &Learning/Training &Research Bill Brieger | 19 Apr 2018

MIM – Fostering the next generation of malaria researchers in Africa – gaps and emerging opportunities

Dr Olumide Ogundahunsi of the of the Unicef-UNDP-World Bank-WHO Tropical Disease Research Program (best known as TDR) helped organize a symposium on the history and future goals of the Multilateral Initiative for Malaria (MIM) at the current MIM Conference. He describes the symposium, efforts to launch a MIM Society, and related issues below.

Dakar is hosting the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria (MIM) Pan Africa Malaria Conference 21 years after the first such gathering of malaria researchers in the city in 1997. At that time Northern research and development organizations including NIH/Fogarty, WHO/TDR, Wellcome Trust, SIDA and others sought to take measure of the malaria research experience and needs of African scientists and scientific institutions. It was challenging at that time to find strong and representative core of malaria researchers across the continent. Arising from that first conference was the development of MIM and a plan for building the capacity of African researchers through a series of malaria research grants that included both postgraduate training as well as support for applying the acquired skills in undertaking malaria research.

Dr John Reeder, Director of TDR and Prof Fred Binka

Between 1997 and 2007 MIM supported Fifty six (56) research capacity strengthening (RCS) grants through the Special programme for research and training in Tropical diseases (TDR) for an aggregate amount of $12.9 million from 1997 to 2007.  The grants responded to basic gaps in capacity, research tools/commodities/supplies and communication. The latter reflected a major need for researchers to connect with the global malaria research community to learn and share.

These grants under the aegis of the MIM/TDR task force on Malaria RCS addressed the following broad research themes: Pathogenesis and Immunology of Malaria, malaria vector control (including insecticide resistance), Chemotherapy and antimalarial drug resistance, research and development of new tools from natural products, and research to facilitate malaria control interventions. At the Symposium Representatives of the 56 MIM grantees from West, Central, East and Southern Africa shared experiences during and after completion of their MIM grant. These included –

  • Professor Francine Ntoumi, Malaria immunology and pathogenesis research capacity in Central Africa, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
  • Professor Lizette Koekemoer, Malaria vector research capacity in Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Professor Abdoulaye Djimde, Malaria treatment and antimalarial drug resistance in West Africa., Univerity of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • Professor Wilfred Mbacham, Malaria treatment and antimalarial drug resistance in Central Africa, Univeristy of Younde 1, Younde, Cameroon
  • Professor Kwadwo Koram, Malaria epidemiology research capacity for elimination and control in Africa, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and University of Ghana,  Accra, Ghana

These speakers demonstrate MIM’s and their own specific achievements in following areas:

  • -Capacity built with infrastructure, technology transfer, skill acquisition and graduate students and postdocs trained (including their current status/subsequent contribution to malaria research and (or) control)
  • -Resources/other grants leveraged
  • -Collaborations established and sustained
  • -Contributions to national and regional malaria research capacity, control and elimination.

MIM ‘alumni’ speaking at the Symposium

Since that time those receiving the MIM RCS were able to benefit from further TDR and other malaria research grants and in the process have themselves helped develop new generations of malaria scientists in the universities and institutes where they work. MIM has continued to address the original research gaps. The holding of six subsequent Pan-African conferences.  Grants were also provided for establishing satellite communications systems at three institutions where grantees were based.

Participants in this process who attended the current conference (MIM2018) were able to help achieve on of the objectives of the symposium that is “highlighting the importance of continuous investment in training and monitoring of young African scientists.” The symposium also articulated the unmet and emerging gaps in research capacity of particular relevance to malaria control and elimination.

Visiting the TDR booth to discuss MIM experiences and research opportunities

MIM started and continues as a partnership among Northern and African research organizations with a rotating secretariat. For the past 10 years the MIM secretariat has been based in Africa, and most recently in Cameroon in the Biotechnology Centre of the University of Yaoundé.

Going forward the MIM is evolving into the MIM Society, a broad-based society which will focus among others on organizing regular MIM conferences, promoting research capacity strengthening and foster and unite the different initiative on the continent and worldwide. The MIM society will also invigorate the young African scientist to emerge as outstanding researchers and leaders with ground breaking innovation in science and its applications to development.

The MIM Society will be a global non-profit organization whose mission is to unite all human resources, young and experienced, working on malaria (from researchers over implementers, teachers, producers, funders, policy makers) to strengthen and sustain the capacity of malaria affected countries and to be an umbrella organization for all malaria related initiatives. The MIM Society through its members will guarantee capacity building goals for malaria researchers set by MIM 20 years ago will be carried forward for another 20 years and more.

CHW &Health Workers &IPTp &Malaria in Pregnancy Bill Brieger | 19 Apr 2018

Acceptance of the Contribution of Community-Based Health Workers (CBHWs) to Improving Prevention of Malaria in Pregnancy in Burkina Faso by Health Center Staff

Efforts are underway to test the a community-based system for providing IPTp to pregnant women in Burkina Faso as a means of increasing coverage. Justin Tiendrebeogo, Ousmane Badolo, Mathurin Dodo, Yacouba Savadogo, Danielle Burke, Susan Youll, and William Brieger share a formative study among health staff concerning their perceptions of the ability of Community Based Health Workers to provide increased doses. This was presented at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Conference in Dakar. Below are the findings.

The Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, with support from its partners, initiated a study on the feasibility of increasing provision of intermittent preventive malaria treatment in pregnant women (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP). Existing community-based health workers (CBHWs) were enlisted to deliver the third and fourth doses recommended by the World Health Organization. Currently, only facility-based health care providers give SP, and women in rural areas have trouble accessing health facilities for the medicine.

Using CBHWs has the potential to reach more women with a greater number of doses of IPTp-SP. Direct training and supervision of CBHWs is the responsibility of frontline health care staff, including antenatal care (ANC) providers. Therefore, to ensure a successful rollout of community delivery of IPTp, it is crucial that these staff accept the new roles of CBHWs. This baseline study was conducted to learn the frontline staff’s views about existing and proposed CBHW activities.

Study’s Geographic Areas. Three districts (Batié, Pô, and Ouargaye) in the southern part of Burkina Faso. Twelve centre de santé et de promotion sociale (health and social promotion centers [CSPS]) were selected in Ouargaye, Pô, and Batié Health Districts. In each district, two CSPS were randomly assigned as intervention catchment areas, for a total of six centers. Then using matching criteria, the remaining six CSPS were designated as control sites.

Health Worker Interviews were conducted among a total of 35 CSPS staff: 23 were men, and 12 were women. Semi-structured interview guides were used in this formative study. Open-ended questions sought the views of ANC providers and CBHW supervisors about the current work of CBHWs and the feasibility of using this health cadre to administer IPTp to pregnant women. The Study sought to understand provider opinions to design an IPTp-SP intervention involving CBHWs.

Qualitative analysis identified common themes in the open-ended responses. Providers like the CBHW program, noting that “CBHWs come from the community” and help with language barriers. However, CBHWs are not always available or move frequently from one community to another. A few male providers noted issues with timely payment of stipends to CBHWs.

Most providers were open to CBHWs providing IPTp-SP to pregnant women: “It will reduce [our] workload.” Unlike female providers, some male providers stressed the need for CBHWs to be “well trained.”

Providers commented that CBHWs were needed and could contribute. For example CBHWs could increase the uptake of IPTp-SP, prevent deaths and malaria, educate women and the community, and prevent stock-outs of SP. While CBHWs do not currently provide IPTp-SP, several providers noted that CBHWs already conduct community education sessions with pregnant women on taking IPTp-SP.

A few noted that CBHWs already monitor adherence to IPTp-SP doses and send women to the health facility when doses are needed. Providers expressed the importance of including information on malaria prevention and treatment, IPTp-SP administration, stock management, and data collection in the CBHW training.

The findings guided discussions and planning with both district and CSPS staff in the design of the CBHW training and IPTp-SP intervention. The results led to development of the training-of-trainers process that started with the district health team, who then trained CSPS staff—the CSPS staff then trained CBHWs.

Gaining the frontline staff’s acceptance of and perceptions about CBHWs—and building on them—will hopefully lead to greater ownership and better management of project implementation at the community level.

This poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, PMI, or the United States Government.

Case Management &Children Bill Brieger | 19 Apr 2018

Improved Malaria Case Management of Children under Age 5: The Experience of the MCSP Restoration of Health Services Liberia Project

Catherine Gbozee, Birhanu Getahun, Topian Zikeh, Anne Fiedler, and Allyson Nelson of the Maternal and Child Survival Program (Jhpiego and John Snow, Inc.) have presented experiences on improving malaria case management for children in Liberia at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Conference in Dakar. Below are their findings.

In malaria-endemic countries, malaria is the second leading cause of mortality for children under the age of 5 years. In Liberia Mortality rate for children under the age of 5 years was 94 per 1,000 in 2013. Malaria accounts for 31% of outpatient mortality for children under the age of 5 years and 51% of all outpatient consultations. Malaria among children under the age of 5 years accounts for 20.5% of all outpatient consultations in Liberia Health services weakened by the epidemic of Ebola virus disease. Over 40% of children under the age of 5 years have tested positive for malaria using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) since 2009 (see Figure 1)

Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) Restoration of Health Services (RHS) Project Objectives for malaria include prevention at facilities, Strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) practices at 77 health facilities through training, intensive supportive supervision, triage, improvement of waste management, and provision of essential IPC commodities and supplies, Increased utilization of and demand for maternal and child health services—Restore delivery of quality primary health care services through implementation of integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health as part of the Essential Package of Health Services in 77 facilities.

MCSP RHS supported health facilities in three counties

  • Grand Bassa: 30 (91% of health facilities in county)
  • Lofa: 17 (27% of health facilities in county)
  • Nimba: 30 (46% of health facilities in county)
  • Population coverage: 900,000 (20% of total population)

Liberia Malaria Indicator Survey 20164 showed that mRDT was done for only 43% and 44% of children with fever in North Central and South Central regions, respectively. Treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) improved from 43% to 81% from 2013 to 2016. Intervention approaches are outlined at the left.

Scores for all technical areas, including malaria, improved
from baseline to endline (see Figure 2). Median facility scores for adherence to malaria clinical standards improved by 75% between baseline and endline in half of MCSP facilities sampled (see Figures 3 and 4). Percent of malaria cases in children under 5 years of age receiving ACT for malaria in MCSP-supported facilities improved from 76% to 82%, despite sporadic stock-outs of ACT (see Figure 5)

Challenges included Frequent stock-outs of mRDTs and ACT. There were Bad roads and broken bridges challenging for supportive supervision, malaria commodity distribution, and facility accessibility to users.

Lessons Learned included Task-shifting and comprehensive hands-on health workforce improvement approaches are essential for revamping and improving quality care provision in post-disaster settings such as Liberia. Uninterrupted and sustained supplies of mRDTs, ACT, and malaria commodities are key for quality malaria case management.

References

1. World Health Organization (WHO). 2015. MCEE-WHO methods and data sources for child causes of death 2000–2015. WHO website.
http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/ChildCOD_method_2000_2015.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2018.

2. Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Liberia, National AIDS Control Program Liberia, et al. 2014.
Liberia demographic and health survey 2013. Demographic and Health Surveys Program website. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr291/fr291.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2018.

3. Liberia Ministry of Health. Liberia Ministry of Health Annual Report 2015. Monrovia, Liberia: Ministry of Health.

4. National Malaria Control Program, Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, and The DHS Program. 2017. Liberia Malaria Indicator Survey 2016.
The Demographic and Health Surveys Program website. http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/MIS27/MIS27.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2018.

This poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

CHW &IPTp &Malaria in Pregnancy Bill Brieger | 18 Apr 2018

Community-Based Health Workers in Burkina Faso: Are they ready to take on a larger role to prevent malaria in pregnancy?

Community Based Health Worker (CBHW) opinions were sought prior to establishing community delivery of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pr4egnancy in Burkina Faso. Bill Brieger, Danielle Burke, Justin Tiendrebeogo, Ousmane Badolo, Mathurin Dodo, Yacouba Savadogo, and Susan Youll report on the findings from the CBHWs at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Meeting in Dakar.

In 2012 and 2013, World Health Organization recommended that a minimum of three doses—rather than two doses—of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp). This three-dose recommendation has made it more challenging to achieve the 85% national coverage target in Burkina Faso. Existing health services in other endemic countries have also had difficulty achieving the two-dose target. Using a formative approach, this study tested if the 85% target could be achieved by having IPTp delivered to the community through trained community-based health workers (CBHWs) who are supervised by the health system.

Existing training materials for these CBHWs outline a basic role in promoting antenatal care (ANC) and guiding communities to use curative and preventive malaria services. The question was to what extent are the CBHWs practicing what they were taught, and could training in community delivery of IPTp build on their existing roles.

Because of continuous malaria transmission, these three districts in the southern part of Burkina Faso were chosen for the intervention study: Batie, Po, and Ouargaye. Also in these three districts, community health workers have been involved in the implementation of other programs, such as immunization, malaria, nutrition, and family planning.

As part of this formative study to design the community-based IPTp intervention, semi-structured interviews were conducted with CBHWs in three health districts (Batie, Po, and Ouargaye) with a high malaria burden. In general, the Directorate of Health Promotion in the Ministry of Health encourages communities to select one male and one female CBHW, although the actual CBHWs chosen would depend on availability and literacy of the CBHW.

In each district, four centre de santé et de promotion sociale (health and social promotion centers [CSPS] were selected, and their catchment areas were divided among intervention and control groups. Effort was made to reach all CBHWs currently practicing in these 12 catchment areas. Numerical and narrative data were entered in a database and analyzed by gender based on major themes relating to ANC, pregnancy, and malaria services. Interview transcripts were manually reviewed for themes.

Of the CBHWs interviewed, a total of 62 were male and 42 were female.  Both female and male CBHWs provide advice and education to women in their villages, which may include advising women to go to the CSPS for pregnancy or ANC, family planning, immunization, or illness. Some CBHWs stated that they remind women about follow-up ANC appointments. As one female CBHW explained, “on their return [from CSPS for care], I ask [the pregnant woman] what has been said and I shall ensure they practice this.”

A male CBHW noted that he “direct[s] women, in case of amenorrhea, [to] go to CSPS to check for pregnancy, to [receive] follow[-up] care, and be in good health.” Many male CBHWs were likely to mention malaria-related activities, including education about causes and prevention of malaria. A few male CBHWs talked about helping people recognize malaria, seek treatment, and comply with recommended medicine regimens.

A few male and female CBHWs specifically mentioned encouraging women to take sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for IPTp. Some reported involvement in distributing bed nets. In contrast to the male CBHWs, some female CBHWs may even accompany women to ANC to ensure that the women receive services.

Some challenges were faced by CBHWs. At least a third of the CBHWs noted difficulties in carrying out their work, but they also had encouragements: “Acceptance by the community of my activities facilitates the task.” “Nothing is easy, but with the understanding of people, there are no problems.” While officially, CBHWs were to receive a stipend, one CBHW explained that “nothing is easy, especially that I am not paid for all these activities.” Others also noted that “for the moment, there is nothing that is easy as we lack the tools [for the job].”

CBHWs report being active in promoting the health of pregnant women and encouraging women and the community to prevent and treat malaria. Although their training stresses postnatal care, this area was not mentioned during interviews. Likewise, CBHWs did not address the danger signs of malaria in pregnancy during the interviews, which is in their training. Female CBHWs were more likely to encourage pregnant women to attend ANC at CSPS and follow up with them after the visit, while the male CBHWs were more focused on providing health information. Logistical challenges and payment of stipends need to be addressed before adding more duties for the CBHW to complete. Overall, CBHWs are positioned to deliver IPTp under the supervision of CSPS staff.

This poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, PMI, or the United States Government.

Procurement Supply Management Bill Brieger | 17 Apr 2018

Ministry of Health’s Effort in Developing and Implementing a Quality Assurance Plan for Global Fund-Supported Antimalarial Drugs: A Case Study of Nepal in the Context of Malaria Elimination

Prakash Raj Pant and Bhim Acharya of the USAID Supported Maternal and Child Survival Program/Jhpiego (MCSP)and the Epidemiology and Disease Division, Ministry of Health, Nepal presented their case study of developing a quality assurance approach for the Global Fund supported provision of antimalarial drugs at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Conference in Dakar. Below are their experiences.

Nepal is in the malaria elimination phase, with a target of 2026 through the Global Fund (GF) malaria grant in process for 2018–2021. The Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) also supported GF HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria grant implementation.

Quality assured antimalarials are a prerequisite for malaria elimination. This is Mandated by GF quality control policies on pharmaceuticals National Malaria Strategic Plan 2016 states: “quality assured antimalarials should be available at all points of service delivery”. Nepal National Drug Regulation Agency (NDRA) does not have a written quality assurance (QA) policy for GF pharmaceuticals

Developing and Implementing a Successful QAP requires the following Key considerations:

  • Effective coordination of National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and stakeholders with NDRA
  • Approval of QAP by ministry of health (MOH) and GF
  • Presence of laboratories in the region that are prequalified by the World Health Organization or certified by ISO 17025
  • Advocacy among high-level MOH officials
  • Intersectoral collaboration among implementing partners
  • NDRA’s active role in scheduling inspections
  • Building the capacity of government entities by bilateral agencies (e.g., WHO, United States Agency for International Development) in the initial phase of QAP implementation
  • Budgeting for QA activities in grant funds

Next Steps in QAP Implementation start with identifying GF-approved laboratories in region for quality control testing of existing grant-funded products. Then partners must strengthen national medicine testing capacities, and seek accreditation of government laboratories by international bodies in 2–3 years. It is important to Mainstream grant-funded QA activities into the NDRA

Challenges in Resource-constrained countries like Nepal include weak pharmaceutical QA testing capacity of domestic laboratories with no accreditation from international bodies. There is inadequate attention of decision-makers in implementing QA policies.

Take-Home Messages from the experience in Nepal include the fact that QA of pharmaceuticals is a mandatory but often neglected area in many GF grant recipient countries. There is need to integrate QA measures into country’s mainstream drug regulation. Coordination with in-country stakeholders is critical.

This poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of PMI, USAID, or the United States Government.

Community &Health Workers &Quality of Services Bill Brieger | 17 Apr 2018

Application d’un audit de la qualité des données (DQA) du paludisme dans le district sanitaire de Kribi, Cameroun

Kodjo Morgah, Naibei Mbaïbardoum, Mathurin Dodo, et Eric Tchinda from Jhpiego share their experiences in improving malaria data quality in Kribi District, Cameroon. The project was funded by the ExxonMobil Foundation. Their findings are presented below.

Les indicateurs clés du paludisme En 2015 dans le district sanitaire de Kribi, Cameroun, le mortalité palustre était 19% et le morbidité palustre était 29%. En outre, le couverture du premier traitement de TPI était 76% et 55% pour le deuxième.

Les interventions du projet Amélioration de la qualité des services de contrôle du paludisme au Tchad et au Cameroun sont montrés dans le diagramme ci-joint.

Les activités DQA ont commencé en 2012. Au début du projet, les formations sanitaires de Kribi ne disposaient pas d’une gestion des données suffisante en termes de fiabilité, de complétude et de promptitude des registres des formations sanitaires et des rapports soumis. En 2013 nous avons formé des prestataires de Kribi en prévention et traitement du paludisme, y compris la collecte et la gestion des données, et collaboration avec l’équipe cadre de district (ECD) du Ministère de la Santé Publique (MSP) pour institutionnaliser les réunions mensuelles de vérification et de validation des données. Puis en 2015 nous avons développé et diffusé d’affiches de suivi des données pour aider les formations sanitaires à suivre les indicateurs clés du paludisme afin de soutenir une prise de décision efficace. L’année passe, en 2017, le DQA est réalisé.

Objectifs du DQA sont d’améliorer la qualité des données du paludisme dans le district de Kribi; identifier les erreurs systématiques; apprécier les sous-déclarations et/ou sur-déclarations; mesurer la concordance des données rapportées; apprécier la précision, la validité, la fiabilité, et la complétude des données collectées; et renforcer les capacités des ECD et du PNLP.

Pour mettre en œuvre du DQA, nous avons sélectionné huit indicateurs du paludisme et un indicateur général. Le projet a adapté des outils de collecte des données développés par le projet MEASURE Evaluation financé par l’USAID. Puis, il a facilité le constitution et orientation des équipes d’évaluateurs des données composées du personnel de Jhpiego et des membres de l’ECD. Apres ça, les équipes commencent le réalisation du DQA dans des sites sélectionnés

Modalités :

  • Aucun problème de qualité des données, si la mDA est comprise entre 100% et 90%
  • Problèmes mineurs de qualité des données, si la mDA est comprise entre 89% et 70%
  • Problèmes majeurs de qualité des données, si la mDA est inférieure à 70%

Conclusions: Le DQA a réussi à identifier les problèmes qui ont affecté la qualité des données dans les formations sanitaires de Kribi. Il a aussi révélé une meilleure qualité des données dans les formations sanitaires rurales que dans les formations sanitaires urbaines. Dans l’ensemble, la qualité des données du paludisme est acceptable dans la majorité des formations sanitaires soutenues par le projet.

L’équipe de projet doit soutenir le personnel et les formations sanitaires du MS du district dans l’intégration des recommandations du DQA pour continuer à améliorer la qualité des données.

Recommendations: Il est necessaire de renforcer les capacités des prestataires dans la collecte des données à travers la supervision formative. Dans l’outil de supervision de district, il est utile d’intégrer la vérification et le contrôle des données. Une Aide-mémoire sur la vérification, le contrôle et la validation des données du paludisme devrait être disponible.

Case Management Bill Brieger | 16 Apr 2018

Febrile Illness Case Management in Madagascar: Lessons from a Facility Provider Case Scenario Assessment

Rachel Favero, Jean Pierre Rakotovao, Lalanirina Ravony, Reena Sethi, Katherine Wolf, Barbara Rawlins, Eliane Razafimandimby, Andrianandraina Ralaivaomisa, Toky Rakotondrainibe, Mamy Razafimahatratra, Thierry Franchard, Sedera Mioramalala, Joss Razafindrakoto, and Catherine Dentinger of the Maternal and Child Survival Program/Jhpiego, the National Malaria Control Programme and the United States Agency for International Development/Madagascar examine malaria care seeking in Madagascar. Their findings were presented at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria Conference in Dakar and are shared below.

In 2016, malaria accounted for 5.9% of outpatient visits and 6.7% of all deaths in Madagascar. Care is often delayed and the recommended treatment protocols for management of febrile illness are not systematically applied. Children and adults do not always receive medication for febrile illness and when they do, it is not always the correct medication or dosage, as noted in MEDALI (Mission d’Etude des Déterminants de l’Accès aux Méthodes de Lutte antipaludique et de leur Impact) Quantitative and Qualitative 2014.

Study Goals aimed to Identify gaps, attitudes, and practices that may Prevent timely care seeking for febrile illness (within 24 hours after onset of fever) in the formal health system and Lead to nonadherence to national guidelines for malaria treatment. Key assessment questions included What strategies could be adopted to encourage pregnant women and caregivers of children under age 15 to use the formal health system as their primary resource for treatment of febrile illness? The study also asked What are the reasons that health providers do not systematically apply national malaria treatment guidelines?

Study districts were sampled from eight malaria operational zones. In-depth interviews with the following groups (N = 90). Facility health care providers, both public and private were included as were Community health workers and Caregivers of children under age 15 and pregnant women. Focus group discussions were held with caregivers of children
under the age of 15 years, including pregnant women (N = 16).

A Case scenario was reviewed with facility providers (N = 15). A case scenario is a description of a made-up situation involving a decision to be made or a problem to be solved. The case scenario used was febrile illness in children and pregnant women. This scenario allowed the study team to understand provider response. Provider responses to the scenarios are seen below.

 

From the review of case studies one could see that Facility provider diagnosis and treatment of malaria does not always conform to national protocol. Therefore, Targeted efforts to improve provider knowledge and practice are needed. Effort must be made to Ensure that standards/protocols are available in the health facilities and that providers have received guidance on the standards/protocols. Finally, Supportive supervision should be provided to address gaps in knowledge and practice.

This poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, PMI, or the United States Government.

IPTp &Malaria in Pregnancy &Quality of Services Bill Brieger | 15 Apr 2018

Improved IPTp Uptake: MCSP Restoration of Health Services Experience in Liberia

Nyapu D.Taylor, Birhanu Getahun,Topian Zikeh, Anne Fiedler, and Allyson Nelson of the USAID supported Maternal and Child Survival Program/Jhpiego in Liberia are presenting their project aimed at strengthening health services in Liberia to improve uptake of Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy at the 7th Multilateral Initiative for Malaria in Dakar this week. Below are a description of their work and their main findings.

Mother and baby in Liberian Government Hospital, Grand Bassa County, Liberia. Photo by Kate Holt, Jhpiego.

In Liberia more than 170,000 pregnancies occur each year. Provision of two or more doses of SP for IPTp (IPTp2+) merely increased from 50% 2016. Provision of the three or more doses of

IPTp (IPTp3+) remains at 22%.Liberia adopted WHO’s IPTp3+ guideline but it is not practiced all over the country. There is a gap in the competency of the health care workforce. There are recurring stock-outs of SP.The Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) Restoration of Health Services (RHS) intended to address these challenges. Project

Objectives included Prevention at facilities by strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) practices at 77 health facilities through training, intensive supportive supervision, triage, improvement of waste management, and provision of essential IPC commodities and supplies.  Also the project aimed to Increase utilization of and demand for maternal and child health services bu restoring delivery of quality primary health care services through implementation of integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health as part of the Essential Package of Health Services in 77 facilities.

MCSP RHS supported health facilities in three counties:

  • Grand Bassa: 30 (91% of health facilities in county)
  • Lofa: 17 (27% of health facilities in county)
  • Nimba: 30 (46% of health facilities in county)

Population coverage was 900,000 or 20% of population. This included 45,000 pregnancies per year. The Project timeline is September 2015–June 2018. The quality improvement process used in the project is seen in the attached diagram.

Several achievements were documented. Adherence to malaria clinical standards improved from 25% at baseline to 100% at endline in 39 MCSP-supported facilities—sampled at endline (see Figure 1). Adherence to malaria clinical standards improved substantially from baseline to endline in 39 MCSP-supported facilities—sampled at endline (see Figure 2). Increasing uptake of IPT2+ in the 77 RHS facilities has been observed since the inception of the project (see Figure 3).

The project met and dealt with several challenges. Health facilities were sporadically stocked with SP and mosquito nets (another component of malaria in pregnancy services). Bad roads prevented travel to field during rainy seasons. This affected distribution of malaria supplies and provision of mentorship and supervision for quality service. Clients had huge difficulty accessing health facilities.

Among the lessons learned were that close collaboration and involvement of key actors, especially MOH (National Malaria Control Program) and country health team at all levels, is an effective and efficient approach for project implementation. Regular mentorship and coaching during supportive supervision improves the quality of care provided for malaria in pregnancy. Ensuring availability of IPTp drugs and long-lasting insecticidal nets at health facilities are key to preventing malaria in pregnancy.

In conclusion the project met IPC objectives and achieved 80% Safe, Quality, Health Services score. Thus there was improved service delivery utilization.

The poster was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Survival Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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