The Drum Beat 489 - Malaria Prevention and Treatment
This issue of The Drum Beat focuses on communication avenues in malaria policy, prevention, and treatment. It includes initiatives and strategic thinking related to advocacy and policy development, research on prevention and treatment approaches, assessment of progress related to existing programmes, and resources to support community awareness, campaigning efforts, and training of health workers.
April 25th, World Malaria Day, is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world.
According to the Roll Back Malaria (RBM)'s World Malaria Day website, there are 109 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that still have cases of malaria; in some of those countries, the disease is rampant. However, effective, low-cost tools exist to prevent and treat the disease, and new and improved tools are currently being developed and tested. A consensus global action plan has been put forth to guide a coordinated international effort to control, eliminate, and eventually eradicate malaria. This plan relies on partnership - uniting all key actors and stakeholders in malaria control - as its cornerstone for responding to the challenge.
For more information, please see:
- A summary of World Malaria Day 2009.
- The World Malaria Day 2009 website.
- The Global Malaria Action Plan (MAP) online.
The Drum Beat 489 contains:
- A focus on malaria ADVOCACY/POLICY DEVELOPMENT.
- RESEARCH networks and efforts in pursuit of elimination of malaria.
- Vote in our HIV/AIDS POLL on social norm change.
- Malaria campaign EVALUATIONS.
- ARCHIVED E-MAGAZINES focused on malaria.
- Support RESOURCES for malaria workers and initiatives.
MALARIA ADVOCACY AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT
1. VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future - Global (specific focus on Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Mozambique)
This is a worldwide advocacy programme aiming to engage new voices in calling for and working towards a malaria-free future for families in developing countries. Launched in July 2006 by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), this programme strives to educate policymakers about effective strategies for malaria control by highlighting successful programmes implemented through evidence-based decision-making. By reaching out to donor agencies, government representatives, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations, and private sector organisations (among others), CCP highlights successful anti-malaria efforts (particularly those in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Mozambique) and evidence-based results through communication channels such as press releases, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and networking/partnership.
Contact: Matt Lynch mlynch@jhuccp.org OR Bonnie Gillespie bgillesp@jhuccp.org
2. Mobilising 4 Malaria (M4M) - Belgium, Cameroon, Ethiopia, France, Mozambique, United Kingdom
This initiative works to combat malaria by raising people's awareness of the disease in Europe and Africa in order to bring greater resources to bear against the disease. M4M also promotes the role of civil society, including the media, in the global malaria advocacy movement by developing and promoting "Coalitions against Malaria". The key M4M strategy is encouraging partnership building and collaborative work between all civil society actors - not only in their own countries but through North-South joint initiatives - in order to increase public and political awareness and support for response to malaria at global, national, and local levels. It fosters alliances of malaria advocates and activists and addresses the need for complementarity and magnifying effect of media coverage, policy debate, and NGO involvement.
Contact: info@mobilising4malaria.org
3. Malaria Control in Schools: Protecting Children and Teachers - Protecting the Next Generation
This Information for Action Leaflet illustrates the role schools can play in preventing malaria and building awareness in the community about malaria prevention in Southern Africa. Produced by the Southern Africa Malaria Control (SAMC) in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the leaflet underlines the need for primary and secondary schools to participate in malaria advocacy and use their roles as institutions to share information and facilitate resource mobilisation.
4. Student Leaders Against Malaria (SLAM) - United States
This educational programme is designed to engage students around the world in joining together to understand and fight malaria. SLAM's mission is to build a global network of student leader partnerships with the slogan "Kids Advocating for Kids". The SLAM project promotes malaria awareness, education, and advocacy efforts among children, and works to broaden their horizons through ICTs and in-person, community-based, youth-generated initiatives. In malaria-endemic regions of the world, this project uses a variety of interpersonal communication approaches in an effort to build relationships and opportunities for children who are familiar with the challenges of this disease - while at the same time sensitising children from countries without malaria to the devastation it causes.
Contact: MFI@malaria.org
See also:
End Malaria - Blue Ribbon Campaign
RESEARCH ON PREVENTION AND TREATMENT APPROACHES
Launched in 2006, this network promotes malaria research communication in Africa by strengthening the capacity of African journalists through training. The network of African journalists and scientists focuses on: disseminating information on malaria control initiatives; bridging the gap between the public and malaria scientists and researchers; and monitoring and advocating for the implementation of malaria policies in Africa. It also advocates and engages policy makers to implement international agreements on malaria control. The network was one of the outcomes of a one-week workshop on malaria research reporting in Africa, for selected journalists from 9 African countries: The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania. Since then, Burkina Faso has also joined AMMREN. Network members are particularly interested in malaria research, as they believe that research findings enrich the planning process for effective health care.
Contact: Charity Binka cbinka@gmail.com or ammren1@yahoo.com OR Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) info@womec.org
by Steven A. Harvey, Larissa Jennings, and Masela Chinyama
This Zambia-based study, carried out under the auspices of the Zambia National Malaria Control Center (NMCC) and published by the Malaria Journal in August 2008, was designed to determine: (i) whether community health workers (CHWs) could prepare and interpret rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria accurately and safely using manufacturers' instructions alone; (ii) whether simple, mostly pictorial instructions (a "job aid") could raise performance to adequate levels; and (iii) whether a brief training programme would produce further improvement. This report describes the methodology used for the study and provides details about the job aid and half-day training programme.
7. Role of Information and Communication Networks in Malaria Survival
by Pallab Mozumder and Achla Marathe
This 2007 Malaria Journal research investigates the impact of information and communication network (ICN) density variables on malaria death probability. It pools data from 70 different countries to construct a panel dataset of health and socio-economic variables for a time span of 1960-2004. Researchers used this dataset to study the effects of the density of telephone lines and television sets in malaria-exposed populations to see if ICN density improves the effectiveness of existing resources for malaria prevention and treatment. They found that "[w]ell-communicated information and collective decision making can lead to faster and superior home based treatment." Through the use of ICN, sources of shared information on treatment of disease can be made available to a community as a kind of social capital, and communities with high social capital have proven to have lower disease rates.
8. Malaria Treatment in Nigeria: The Role of Patent Medicine Vendors
by Oladimeji Oladepo, Salami Kabiru, Babatunde W. Adeoye, Frederick Oshiname, Bola Ofi, Modupeola Oladepo, Olayinka Ogungbemi, William R. Brieger, Gerry Bloom, and David H. Peters
This March 2009 policy brief discusses the role of the patent medicine vendor (PMV) in dispensing anti-malarial drugs in Nigeria. Reportedly, there are both fake medicines and those to which the malaria parasite has become highly resistant. A recent government recommendation is that people use artemisinin-combined therapy (ACT), though this study shows that it is the least commonly stocked anti-malarial medicine and that PMVs are generally not aware of the recommendation. An Ibadan University scoping study showed that:
- PMVs are the largest source of malaria treatment in all areas
- PMVs have little knowledge of the new treatment guidelines, and most government officials know little about PMVs
- The PMVs provide many different drugs for malaria, but the most common and cheapest are the least effective
- The recommended treatment, ACT, is not readily available, and is the most expensive
- PMVs, other health providers, government officials, and community members share concerns about the quality of drugs
- The organisation of the supply chain for pharmaceuticals differs between states, meaning that local knowledge and locally adapted solutions are needed.
by Pamela Opiyo, W Richard Mukabana, Ibrahim Kiche, Evan Mathenge, Gerry F Killeen, and Ulrike Fillinger
According to the authors, the involvement and active participation of communities has been identified as a key factor for success of malaria control in rural environments. Through an exploratory study, this research evaluates community factors relevant for participatory malaria control on Rusinga Island, western Kenya. Results from the study's focus groups and interviews showed that, though malaria is considered one of the major threats to life, there is little effective knowledge of malaria prevention, including causal knowledge of the transmission cycle. Misconceptions about malaria and distrust of messages from the "outside" were consistent with those found elsewhere in Africa. "[D]espite the fact that there is a lot of knowledge in the community, this knowledge was distorted and causal connections were not understood, raising questions about the quality of past health education messages and whether they might be more confusing than helpful if not implemented in a cultural sensitive way."
by Christopher Whitty
This report explores issues related to the proper delivery of existing tools for malaria control and treatment. According to this report, in many areas, malaria is as much of a problem as it ever was, and in areas associated with conflict, malaria can often increase, as control mechanisms break down. In these areas, "[t]he millions of deaths annually are largely due to failure of delivery of these tools to those who need them, particularly the poorest, and especially children." Thus, the argument here is that, although excellent tools like drugs and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) exist, they will be of limited effectiveness if they do not reach the right people, in the right ways. To understand how to enhance delivery, APPMG looks at the multiple ways in which effectiveness can be reduced, proposing strategies to resolve these challenges.
See also:
Please VOTE in our HIV/AIDS Poll:
From your regional context and perspective, which should be the priority focus for social norm change related to HIV/AIDS prevention?
- Male Circumcision
- One Sexual Partner
- Condom Use
- Knowledge of One's HIV Status
- Stigma
- Rights
VOTE and COMMENT - click here!
EVALUATIONS OF EXISTING MALARIA CAMPAIGNS
by Susanta K Ghosh, Rajan R Patil, Satyanarayan Tiwari, and Aditya P Dash
According to this research, Kalajatha, a popular, traditional art form of folk theatre depicting various life processes of a local socio-cultural setting, is an effective medium of mass communication in the Indian sub-continent, especially in rural areas. The document describes using this medium to carry out a community-based health education programme for bio-environmental malaria control. As stated in the document, in India, there is no standard format for delivering health education messages on malaria. Many conventional methods, such as posters, pamphlets, hoardings, and electronic media, have limited effects on the rural community due to low literacy rate. Thus, Kalajatha has been used experimentally as a medium of mass communication to assist the malaria control programme. In December 2001, the Kalajatha events were performed in the evening hours for 2 weeks in a malaria-affected district in Karnataka State, southern India. Thirty local artists, including 10 governmental organisations and NGOs, actively participated. This report includes a summary of the impact of this programme, assessed after 2 months of implementation.
by Manuel W Hetzel, Nelly Iteba, Ahmed Makemba, Christopher Mshana, Christian Lengeler, Brigit Obrist, Alexander Schulze, Rose Nathan, Angel Dillip, Iddy Mayumana, Rashid A Khatib, Joseph D Njau, and Hassan Mshinda
This research project on malaria interventions was designed to evaluate the ACCESS programme, which sought to understand and improve access to prompt and effective malaria treatment and care in a rural Tanzanian setting. The document describes the programme and its baseline study in preparation for extended monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The baseline showed uneven coverage of treatment and access to medications for malaria in both the intervention and comparisons sites. The communication-related intervention area uses behaviour change campaigns, including: sensitising community leaders to gain their support and collaboration; social marketing of information to mothers and caregivers of children under 5 years old and pregnant women; road shows which include a dance competition, comedies, and role plays; a public lecture on malaria transmission; a cinema show featuring stories on prompt and effective malaria treatment; question-and-answer sessions with promotional stickers, leaflets, and T-shirts; a permanent billboard presence on main roads; a poster campaign; and special campaigns in mother and child health (MCH) clinics.
by Dana Tilson
This paper explores the work of Population Services International (PSI) to use social marketing in Kenya to promote ITNs as a way to prevent malaria. Communications were considered an important part of the strategy, complementing distribution. The report explains how the promotion strategy initiated in 1998 was changed in 2003, based on lessons learned. A branded campaign was developed to stimulate demand for Supanet and Power Tab ITNs through radio, television, and print media. Supanet advertising was designed for pregnant women and parents of children under 5 with soft, family-oriented messages promoting the use of Supanet for malaria prevention. Power Tab communications were designed for all mosquito net owners, and revolved around a locally developed super action hero called "Mr. Power Tab" who runs around smashing mosquitoes and protecting users from malaria. The idea was based on the World Wrestling Federation concept, which, according to PSI, is popular in Kenya.
See also:
Insecticide-Treated Nets - Kenya
Cambodia: Malaria on the Decline Due to Concerted Awareness Efforts
Net Gain - A New Method for Preventing Malaria Deaths
ARCHIVED ISSUES of The Drum Beat and The Soul Beat on Malaria:
The Soul Beat 113 - Communication for Malaria Prevention and Treatment
The Soul Beat 33 - Malaria Communication
The Drum Beat 40 - Malaria and Dengue - Community Approaches
SUPPORT RESOURCES FOR AWARENESS, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND MOBILISATION
14. Malaria Atlas Project: Developing Global Maps of Malaria Risk
by Simon Hay and Robert W. Snow
This article describes an initiative through which researchers have created a global, online map of communities at high risk of malaria to help policymakers allocate public health resources based on evidence-based quantification of need. Launched on May 1 2006, the website associated with the ongoing Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) allows users to visualise the current distribution of contemporary parasite rate data through static maps in Web browsers, or - more interactively - through files that enable the data to be displayed in the form of satellite photographs on Google Earth. This approach to understanding malaria draws on new ICTs to share precise data collected by population surveys, enabling scientists to estimate the risk for regions lacking records - toward better design of malaria control initiatives and efforts to measure their impact.
15. Malaria in Pregnancy Resource Package
This online resource package is designed for policy makers, public health professionals, and managers who are implementing, scaling up, or updating programmes designed to reduce malaria in pregnancy and provide effective treatment for pregnant women with malaria. It includes training resources, programming resources, and reference materials, all free to download and intended to be easily adapted to a specific country's public health context.
This guide is designed to help malaria advocates clearly understand the concept of advocacy and master the knowledge and skills required to successfully operate as effective malaria advocates. The guide is designed to provide basic information about malaria in Ghana, and gives practical examples of how some of the key concepts in advocacy are being used. It intends to help users think about what advocacy roles are best suited to their organisational or individual capacity and advises on formats that could be used to present advocacy messages.
17. PMI Communication and Social Mobilization Guidelines
From the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), these guidelines are designed to assist in the development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of programmes to influence behaviours around malaria interventions, including the following: correct and consistent ITN use; acceptance of indoor residual spraying; and adherence to treatment and prevention therapies, including intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy during pregnancy and treatment with ACT for children under 5 within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. Published in January 2008, the guidelines intend to increase demand for malaria services and products, as well as community involvement in malaria control.
Published in September 2008 by the Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP), this toolkit provides lessons that can be applied across the goals of universal ITN coverage. Based on AMP's experience integrating LLIN campaigns with vaccination/nutrition campaigns for children under age 5 as primary platforms, the toolkit takes organisations through the process of planning and implementing campaigns around ITNs. It comes with a CD-ROM containing the documents referenced in the resource list.
19. How Mosquito Began to Bite Man
by Solomon Iguanre
This children's storybook tells the tale of how it came to be that mosquitoes bite humans. The story is a fable told from a Christian-centred perspective and focuses on the animal community, which in this case includes man. From a teaching angle, the story addresses reading comprehension, a sense of community, respect for fellow human beings and animals, as well as the causes of malaria and how to prevent it. At the end of each chapter there are questions and comprehension exercises.
The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com
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