In July 2010, Chemonics was awarded a contract by USAID/Malawi to implement the Malawi Indoor Residual Spraying Activity. The project sought to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by decreasing its level of transmission. This was accomplished through spraying the inside surfaces of structures with a residual insecticide to kill malaria’s vector: mosquitoes.
In its first year, the project completed the 2010 spray season and registered a number of achievements during the planning, implementation, and review stages of the campaign. Chemonics also implemented a number of efforts that strengthened the capacity of the National Malaria Control Program and Ministry of Health staff to implement indoor residual spraying in their target districts and for future campaigns.
The project engaged in a significant number of activities to improve monitoring and quality assurance processes, by ensuring that spraying activities were implemented efficiently, adhered to high quality, and were cost effective. These activities included close supervision of field implementation, a review of data collection tools and development of a new monitoring and evaluation database, and periodic performance reviews of the program. The capacity building efforts and initiatives helped to enhance the project’s quality and effectiveness.
Project staff also assisted district-level Ministry of Health staff in conducting training workshops in the target districts of Nkhotakota and Salima, including workshops on environmental compliance, geographical reconnaissance, post-spraying beneficiary satisfaction review, behavior change and communications, and program supervision and monitoring for quality assurance. Chemonics supported the Ministry of Health in implementing indoor residual spraying best practices by spearheading a review of spraying guidelines and development of a training manual for district malaria control program staff, communities, and other stakeholders working on indoor residual spraying programs. These interventions strengthened the ability of Malawian district and national health staff to implement future campaigns.
Such improvements have contributed to the mutual goals of the ongoing President’s Malaria Initiative and Ministry of Health Malaria Strategic Plan for Malawi (2011-2015): achievement of universal coverage in prevention and treatment of malaria and a 50 percent reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality.
- Sprayed over 760,000 structures in seven districts over the three years of the project
- Protected over 2,751,000 Malawians from malaria through the three campaigns, including 504,551 children under 5 years of age and 92,445 pregnant women
- Trained 2,769 individuals in proper spraying techniques during the 2010 and 2011 seasons
- Worked with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to build local capacity to facilitate and lead spray campaigns from April 2012 – March 2013
- Conducted environmental impact assessment to analyze the four classes of insecticides certified by the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES)
Read the Final Report here.
Project Duration: 2010 - 2013