Malaria

While playing a key role at the global level to inform malaria policy and guidelines, MEASURE Evaluation works at the national level in measuring achievements of malaria control efforts  and supporting national malaria control programs to establish and strengthen information systems that will help monitor program performance. Achievements in support to the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) include : coordination at the global level; tools and methods development; technical leadership/research; training /capacity building; and support to countries to build M&E systems.

Coordination at the global level 

MEASURE Evaluation coordinates all Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group (MERG) meetings, having served as the Secretariat of the group since its inception. In response to the discussion and action items from the Survey and Indicator Task Force meeting held in April 2011,  MEASURE Evaluation is leading the third revision of the RBM Household Survey Indicators for Malaria Control manual.

MEASURE Evaluation contributes to several global-level documents by reviewing them and providing technical inputs. These reports include the World Malaria Report released in December 2010 and the Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance Control document released in November 2010. 

MEASURE Evaluation was also involved in the planning process for the global, high-level event on malaria for the UN General Assembly which took place in September 2011.

Tools and Methods Development

In collaboration with MEASURE DHS, MEASURE Evaluation is revising the Household Survey Indicators for Malaria Control manual. MEASURE Evaluation has also led the development of Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) frequently asked questions document to support users of MIS data and tools. 

Given the challenges of measuring the impact of malaria control efforts, the RBM MERG Mortality Task Force was mandated to develop comprehensive guidelines for evaluating the impact of the scale-up of national malaria control programs in sub-Saharan Africa in the past 10 years. MEASURE Evaluation is leading the process; coordinating authors and writing several sections of the document. 

MEASURE Evaluation released the report of the verbal autopsy study nested to the Ghana 2008 DHS. This report presents the distribution of causes of death and provides evidence for the feasibility of using the verbal autopsy tools, developed by MEASURE Evaluation, for assessing cause specific deaths among children under age five, including malaria at the national level.

Technical Leadership/Research 

MEASURE Evaluation continues to provide technical leadership by guiding the developpment of survey tools as well as assessing the best approach in measuring key malaria indicators. One of the main focus areas is the multi-agency impact evaluation initiated by PMI. This evalution will be carried out in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to measure the impact of the scale-up of key malaria interventions on under-five mortality. The first country evaluated was Tanzania Mainland. The final report has been published by RBM. MEASURE Evaluation provided technical inputs for the development of the evaluation protocol, analysis and review of the report. 

MEASURE Evaluation’s malaria work has been presented at several conferences including the Biomarker Symposium at ASTMH in Atlanta (November 2010), Verbal Autopsy presentation at ASTMH in Atlanta (November 2010), Nigeria Bednet study presentation at APHA in Denver (November 2010), PMI Impact Evaluation presentation at the GHME meeting in Seattle (March 2011). 

MEASURE Evaluation published an article in the Malaria Journal entiltled Can universal insecticide-treated net campaigns achieve equity in coverage and use? The case of northern Nigeria using data from a post-Insecticide Treated Net campaign survey conducted in Kano, Nigeria.

Training/Capacity Building

The Regional M&E of Malaria Programs workshop has been delivered annually in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso since 2011 with local partner, Centre de Recherche en Sante (CRSN) and in Accra, Ghana since 2010 with the School of Public Health, University of Ghana. The English workshop curriculum has been revised and made available to trainers and training partners online. These materials have been translated into French and adapted for French-speaking workshop participants; French language materials will be made available online in 2012.

At the request of the Kenya Division of Malaria Control, MEASURE Evaluation assisted in the preparation of a country specific version of the Malaria M&E training. The workshop in Kenya attracted 53 M&E professionals from various Ministry of Health departments.

MEASURE Evaluation coordinated the PMI impact evaluation launch workshop held in October 2010 in Tanzania. The workshop brought together the PMI, CDC, Global Fund, WHO and country national malaria control programs to agree on a common evaluation approach and timelines. The workshop led to the Dar es Salaam Statement on Malaria Impact Evaluations. 

Support to Countries to Build M&E Systems

Resident advisors have been added to the MEASURE Evaluation team in Kenya and Southeast Asia to work closely with national malaria control programs, build capacity and improve M&E systems for monitoring malaria control activities

In Mali, MEASURE Evaluation activities revolve around strengthening malaria routine information systems and other technical support to the national malaria control program. In Kenya, MEASURE Evaluation support to the Department of Malaria Control involves capacity building, strengthening malaria surveillance systems and technical assistance in the implementation of the national M&E plan. 

MEASURE Evaluation provides technical assistance to Ethiopian scientists and health professionals under the Monitoring and Evaluation Activities for Malaria Prevention and Control in Ethiopia associate award, supported by USAID under the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The MEASURE Evaluation team, led by Tulane University in collaboration with the Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, works in partnership with the Oromia Regional Health Bureau, USAID, PMI partners, and other in-country stakeholders with  the goal of reducing the burden of malaria by 50% and eventually halting transmission of parasite infections by 2015.