Malaria
Current portfolio
Malaria is one of the top 10 causes of mortality among children under 5 in Ethiopia. SNNPR has one of the highest malaria burdens in Ethiopia - accounting for 15 percent of the total malaria caseload and 34 percent of total malaria deaths reported at the national level for the year 2016/2017.
Knowledge about malaria is low, according to the Ethiopian Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS 2015), 28 percent of respondents did not recognise fever as a symptom of malaria; 28 percent did not know that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes; and 28 percent did not know that Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) can prevent malaria.
This project aims to reduce malaria morbidity and severity in two woreda of the SNNP Region of Ethiopia (Boloso Sore and Damot Sore) by:
Knowledge about malaria is low, according to the Ethiopian Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS 2015), 28 percent of respondents did not recognise fever as a symptom of malaria; 28 percent did not know that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes; and 28 percent did not know that Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) can prevent malaria.
This project aims to reduce malaria morbidity and severity in two woreda of the SNNP Region of Ethiopia (Boloso Sore and Damot Sore) by:
- Supporting community based indoor residual spraying (IRS) i.e. application of long-lasting insecticides in order to kill adult vector mosquitos.
- Supporting planning and distribution of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs).
- Supporting larvicidal control and environmental management.
- Improving malaria care-seeking behaviour and household practices.
Despite the Ethiopian government’s efforts to provide key interventions and services, Ethiopia’s population suffers from a high burden of preventable disease. In the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), febrile illnesses are the leading cause of sickness and death for children under five, with malaria accounting for one-fifth of all in-patient and out-patient cases (as per the Regional Health Bureau Report 2013 ). The Boloso Sore and Halaba districts in SNNPR are widely known to be highly affected by episodic outbreaks of malaria.
This three-year project aimed to improve the use and effectiveness of community-based health services to reduce child morbidity and mortality in the Boloso Sore and Halaba Districts by strengthening existing community referral systems and increasing the uptake of such services using social behaviour change communication activities to change attitudes and behaviours towards malaria prevention interventions.
Some of the activities that Malaria Consortium were able to implement thanks to this grant include: (i) organisation of 111 road shows where 400,000 people from local communities learnt about malaria prevention and treatment through educational movies and activities, (ii) distribution of posters, booklets and leaflets to 114 health posts to help health extension workers raise awareness and (ii) training 238 health workers to provide effective supportive supervision for health extension workers to improve their performance in service delivery and quality of care at community level.
As a result, during the grant period:
- The percentage of children under five with fever referred to health extension workers by Health Development Army volunteers increased from 33% to 73%.
- The percentage of children under five with fever seeking treatment within 24 hours increased from 46% to 70%.
- This project contributed to a significant decrease in the number of outpatient malaria cases in the project districts (from 44,681 cases in 2014 to 4,070 in 2017, a reduction of 91%).
James Percy Foundation
Registered with the Charity Commission 1144494
Registered with the Charity Commission 1144494