Malaria

Gilbert Awekofua, Courtesy of Photoshare

MEASURE Evaluation has served as the Secretariat for the RBM MERG since its inception in 2003. MEASURE Evaluation also plays a key technical role.

MEASURE Evaluation has led RBM MERG partner organizations in the development of several technical documents, including a guidance document on Household Survey Indicators for Malaria Control, the Malaria Indicator Survey package, and a forthcoming framework for evaluating the impact of malaria control interventions.

MEASURE Evaluation leads several MERG task forces, including the Mortality and Capacity Building Task Forces and contributes to the Routine System Strengthening and Indicators and Data Sources Task Forces.

MEASURE Evaluation continues to provide technical leadership by assessing the best approach in measuring key malaria indicators.

One of the main focuses of MEASURE Evaluation’s work is a multi-agency impact evaluation initiated by the US President Malaria Initiative (PMI). This evaluation 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 in the past decade. The malaria impact evaluation has been completed in Tanzania and is ongoing in several countries, including Angola, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Mozambique. Other countries will start the evaluation process in 2014. 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 disseminated in several peer reviewed publications and at international scientific conferences, including:

• Can universal insecticide-treated net campaigns achieve equity in coverage and use? The case of northern Nigeria. Malaria Journal, 2012.
• Gender differences in insecticide treated nets (ITN) use after a universal free distribution campaign in Kano State, Nigeria (Poster Presentation). American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting (ASTMH). 2012.
• Assessing the impact of malaria interventions: The case of Tanzania mainland (Poster Presentation). Global Health Metric and Evaluation meeting. 2011.
• Can mosquito Insecticide Treated Net campaigns achieve equity in coverage and use? Case of northern Nigeria (Poster Presentation). American Public Health Association Conference. 2010.
• Verbal autopsy, vital registration and other methods—past measurement issues and methods for improving future estimates (Symposium presentation). ASTMH. 2010.

MEASURE Evaluation is committed to building capacity in M&E at the regional, national, and sub-national level in the areas where we work.

• MEASURE Evaluation has provided high-quality regional M&E of Malaria Programs workshops in both English and French. The Anglophone regional workshop has been delivered annually in Accra, Ghana since 2010, in collaboration with the School of Public Health at the University of Ghana. In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, our local partner, Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna (CRSN) has led the Francophone workshops since 2011. So far, 105 participants from various malaria backgrounds have been trained through these rigorous workshops. A standard English and French curriculum are currently in revision and will be made available to trainers and training partners online in 2013.
• To make the M&E training available to a larger audience, MEASURE Evaluation launched an online version of the English language course. MEASURE Evaluation is planning to launch an online Francophone course in 2014.
• 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 is also preparing to organize a similar training in DRC and Liberia in 2013.

MEASURE Evaluation continues to reinforce its presence in countries by working closely with National Malaria Control Programs, either through resident advisors based in country or through support from headquarters. MEASURE Evaluation is providing significant support to the malaria control programs in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mali, and Southeast Asia.

In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) MEASURE Evaluation is providing technical assistance to the National Malaria Control Program to finalize the National Malaria Strategic Plan and the National Malaria Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 2011-2015. MEASURE Evaluation is also involved in capacity building activities and plans to conduct a Malaria M&E workshop in 2013 to train at least 25 participants involved in malaria control activities.

In Kenya, MEASURE Evaluation support to the Division of Malaria Control (DOMC) in Kenya involves capacity building, strengthening malaria surveillance systems and technical assistance for evaluations, and overall technical assistance in the implementation of the national M&E plan. MEASURE Evaluation supported the DOMC to develop and disseminate several reports and tools including annual malaria reports, malaria supportive supervision report and epidemiological profile, and surveillance data collection tools. MEASURE Evaluation also facilitates the participation of the DOMC staff in relevant workshops.

In Mali, MEASURE Evaluation activities include building capacity for the National Malaria Control Program and strengthening malaria routine information systems. MEASURE Evaluation worked with the National Malaria Control Program to develop and roll out the new malaria HIS tools, which involves innovative use of mobile and web-based technologies for rapid data transfer and analysis. The project is also establishing malaria surveillance sites in key jurisdictions. MEASURE Evaluation has also assisted the National Malaria Control Program in reviewing the National Malaria Strategic Plan 2007-2011, and continues to coordinate M&E activities at the national, regional and community levels.

In Southeast Asia, MEASURE Evaluation has been providing technical support to the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia’s (RDMA) M&E and capacity building efforts. MEASURE Evaluation contributed to the development of the Mekong Malaria M&E Framework for Control and Elimination. MEASURE Evaluation also supported curriculum development for a regional M&E cascaded training course in 2012, in addition to facilitating sessions on data demand, use, and analysis. Led by Malaria Consortium and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the course brought together participants from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. MEASURE Evaluation funded the Government of Laos’ National Emerging Infectious Disease Coordinating Office to conduct an assessment of the malaria surveillance system in Attapeu Province, Laos. USAID/RDMA is providing the primary technical oversight for this assessment.