Global Fund gives boost to battle against malaria

The Global Fund has forecast a budget of over US$2 million in assistance to Laos from 2018 to 2020 to assist with the elimination of malaria and reduce the impact of multi-drug resistance in five southern provinces.
A funding agreement was signed on Friday in Vientiane between the Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Ministry of Health, Dr Sisavath Southanilaxay, and the Country Director of Health Poverty Action, Mr Ronaldo Estera. 
The project is titled “Malaria elimination through community-focused interventions” and will be carried out by Health Poverty Action. 
Funding will continue for three years for project implementation in Attapeu, Champassak, Saravan, Savannakhet and Xekong provinces. Activities will target areas that share borders with Kratie, Mondulkiri, Rattanakiri, Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces in Cambodia, and Binh Phouc, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces in Vietnam.

Under the agreement, the project will work with the University of San Francisco California in conducting operation research that includes formative assessment; venue and service point mapping; movement, treatment seeking and population size estimation; linking, analysis and visualisation of data from multiple sources; case-control studies; and adaptive case detection
The project will develop and produce health information and education materials for village health workers, volunteers and mobile outreach teams in conducting community health awareness, education and active malaria case detection and treatment.
It will support annual review meetings and planning at central, provincial, district and health centre levels of these provinces.
The estimated number of people who will directly benefit from the project is more than 156,000 in more than 400 villages in 11 districts of the five provinces covered by the project. The project will support and strengthen the capacity of more than 460 village health workers and volunteers, more than 90 health centre staff, and more than 40 District Health Office staff.
It will target high-risk groups such as mobile, migrant, ethnic and vulnerable populations. The project will help strengthen the surveillance system and evidence base for high-risk groups and vulnerable populations as well as expand malaria prevention and case management for hard-to-reach populations at risk of malaria.
It will work with Health Poverty Action, together with the Department of Communicable Disease Control to implement the project with the Centre for Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology, University of San Francisco California, Lao Positive Health Association and the Population Education and Development Association to strengthen routine data collection and reporting at health centres.
This includes improving reporting by village malaria workers and malaria post volunteers to ensure all reports are integrated into the national DHIS2 reporting in a regular and timely manner.
The project will select and train village health workers and volunteers for integrated community case management which includes malaria and other common illnesses; and provide them with medicines, first aid remedies, monthly incentives and travel allowances for them to attend monthly meetings, submit reports and get replenishment of health commodities at health centres.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update May 27, 2019)