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Home » What We Do » Malaria Control » Malaria Control Projects » Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of Canadian Red Cross insecticide-treated bednet distribution program in Mali

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of Canadian Red Cross insecticide-treated bednet distribution program in Mali

Introduction

Insecticide-treated bednets are an effective tool for malaria prevention, capable of reducing deaths in children by one fifth and episodes of malaria by one half. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) can provide protection for up to three years without the need for regular insecticide re-treatment, thus prolonging the level of malaria prevention. In areas of malaria transmission where sustained vector control is needed, LLINs are a principal strategy for malaria prevention.

The Canadian Red Cross, through the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is working with its international partners to provide long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to children under five in some of the most malaria-affected countries in Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends free distribution of LLINs to achieve full coverage of all people at risk of malaria in a given area.

In Mali, 100% of the population is at risk of malaria. Malaria is one of the principal causes of morbidity and death in children under five years of age, and in pregnant women. Malaria is responsible for 30% of outpatient clinical visits and 30% of hospital deaths. In 2005, more than 800,000 cases of malaria were reported. Insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) is one of the key interventions in Mali's national malaria prevention and control program.

In Mali, HealthBridge is providing technical support for the evaluation of the integrated health campaign that was held December 13 to 19, 2007 and that included the targeted distribution of LLINs. Besides distributing free LLINs to children under five, the campaign provided measles vaccination, polio vaccination, vitamin A supplementation, and deworming medication to over 2.8 million children. This was the first time in Mali that these five interventions were provided through an integrated campaign. Many local and international partners were involved in this campaign, including the CRC and CIDA. Out of the total of 2.2 million LLINs procured for the campaign, 1.8 million were provided by CIDA through the CRC. In June 2007, the targeted distribution of LLINs was carried out in the regions of Gao and Timbuctou through the child nutrition campaign. In 2006, the National Malaria Control Programme in Mali adopted the strategy of free distribution of LLINs to pregnant women during prenatal care services.

HealthBridge's support includes protocol development for this nationally representative household-based survey, programming of the survey questionnaire on personal digital assistants (PDAs), training of the field interviewers and supervisors, technical support to the filed teams during the survey, and data analysis and report-writing. The survey was carried out using PDAs (handheld computers).

Objectives

The overall objective is to evaluate the impact and reach of the integrated LLIN distribution campaigns and the distribution of LLINs through the prenatal care services. Specifically, we will measure the ownership of bednets by households, the ownership of LLINs by households with children that were eligible for the integrated campaigns, the ownership of LLINs by women that attended the prenatal care services, the usage of LLINs by children under five and pregnant women, and the equity of LLIN ownership post-distribution.

Results and Impact

The survey results will help demonstrate the reach and impact of the national-scale distribution of LLINs through an integrated health campaign, and the reach and impact of distributing LLINs to pregnant women through the public health services.

The survey was carried out in Mali August 9-23, 2008. Survey data has been analyzed and please see final report.

Project profile

Key partner: Canadian Red Cross; National Malaria Control Program, Mali

Location: Mali

Duration: February 2008 - February 2009

Contact person:

Rachelle Desrochers, PhD, Geohealth Specialist rdesrochers@healthbridge.ca

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