Last Updated: 12/07/2017
Application of a community-based and integrated strategy to reduce malaria burden in rural Tanzania
Objectives
This project implements the WHO recommended T3 strategy (Test, Treat and Track) integrating it with the Chinese experience to optimize the impact of existing malaria control interventions (Chemotherapy, LLINs, IRS, BCC and Larviciding).
Through a joint weekly review of the routine health facility data, the project identifies and targets the hotspots of ongoing malaria transmission through mass screening and treatment (MSAT). The main goal is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of malaria burden in pilot areas, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the local communities for malaria control.
The project implements the T3-strategy of World Health Organization through community case management integrated with Chinese malaria control experience while exploring for an appropriate strategy and model that is best tailored to our local settings. The project envisages that the efficiency of malaria control activities will be improved in terms of parasitological examination rate, standardized treatment rate and case reporting rate. Consequently, the malaria disease burden will be decreased by 30% in the study communities in comparison with that at the beginning of the project.
This Phase I pilot project was implemented in Rufiji District, southern Tanzania. The study took place in four wards, two with low incidence and two with a higher incidence. One ward of each type was selected for each of the control and intervention arms. The control wards implemented the existing Ministry of Health programmes. The 1,7-mRCTR activities implemented in the intervention arm included ‘Reactive Community based Testing and Response’ to malaria infections. Malaria case-to-suspect ratios at health facilities (HF) were aggregated by villages, weekly to identify the village with the highest ratio. Community-based mobile test stations were used for conducting mass testing and treatment. Baseline (pre) and endline (post) household surveys were done in the control and intervention wards to assess the change in malaria prevalence measured by the interaction term of ‘time’ (post vs pre) and arm in a logistic model. A secondary analysis also studied the malaria incidence reported at the HFs during the intervention.
Infect Dis Poverty. 2019; Application of community-based and integrated strategy to reduce malaria disease burden in southern TanzaniaMalar J. 2020; Effectiveness of the innovative 1,7-malaria reactive community-based testing and response (1, 7-mRCTR) approach on malaria burden reduction in Southeastern Tanzania
Apr 2015 — Jun 2018
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