Malaria Action Program for States (MAPS)
CURRENT PROJECT
The Malaria Action Program for States (MAPS) is a five-year, $79.9 million project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through the MAPS project, FHI 360—in partnership with Health Partners International, Grid Consulting, and the Malaria Consortium—aims to scale up usage and coverage of life-saving malaria interventions in seven states in Nigeria.
Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, directly contributing to poverty, low productivity, and reduced school attendance. The mosquito-borne illness causes over 100 million clinical cases, and is responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths in children under the age of five, as well as 11 percent of maternal mortality cases reported each year. The Government of Nigeria has adopted a proven malaria control strategy that includes protection against mosquito bites, prompt treatment of malaria cases, and the provision of intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) to pregnant women. However, many structural and behavioral barriers prevent the effective implementation of this national strategy.
MAPS aims to increase the quality, access, and uptake of malaria control interventions in Nigeria by helping implement and scale up proven malaria control methods, while strengthening program management capacity at the national, state, and local government levels.
Strategy
Malaria Prevention
When used consistently and correctly, long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) are among the most powerful and cost-effective tools in preventing malaria. The MAPS project is working in close collaboration with relevant private-sector, national-, state-, and local-governmental stakeholders to:
- Increase the number of LLINS in homes through mass-distribution and “top-up” campaigns and improved retail networks
- Ensure correct and consistent use of nets through targeted communications such as radio and community educators
Nigeria's efforts to ensure that women have access to intermittent-preventative treatment (IPT) with sulfacoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) during pregnancy have also been inconsistent. This is often due to negative perceptions of IPT, inadequate distribution systems, poor health worker training, and low attendance at antenatal care (ANC) clinics. MAPS will expand the delivery of IPT to pregnant women by:
- Increasing the number of women seeking antenatal care community-based structures and consistent BCC strategies to promote ANC attendance at public and private facilities
- Improving the capacity of ANC facilities to forecast demand, track supply, ensure availability and meet necessary SP requirements e.g., having clean, safe supply of drinking water available.
- Implementing training programs to ensure ANC service providers are well versed in correct IPT procedures and able to educate women who come in for regular ANC services
Malaria Treatment and Diagnosis
The MAPS Project works with policy makers and local health authorities to ensure closer adherence to case management policies. By helping improve knowledge, skills, and performance among both public and private providers, MAPS is supporting programs to strengthen both pre- and in-service training.
MAPS is also collaborating with the Improving Malaria Diagnostics Project to increase the availability of diagnostics commodities and supplies. To this end, MAPS is helping improve training and quality assurance in the use of diagnostics among both public- and private-sector health workers. MAPS is also working with state governments and the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to develop and implement a malaria microscopist accreditation scheme, and an external quality assurance program for microscopy and RDTs, in order to improve post-testing prescribing practices.
Affecting Positive Behavior Change
Using AED's Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Framework, the MAPS project aims to achieve significant improvement in the adoption of appropriate prevention and treatment behaviors, Namely:
- Encouraging recipients to hang LLINs in the home after distribution campaigns
- Promoting the timely replacement of worn-out nets
- Increasing the use of LLINs by pregnant women and children at all times
- Increasing the use of LLINs by everyone during malaria transmission season
- Encouraging treatment-seeking upon recognition of malaria symptoms
- Promoting adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT)s
- Discouraging the use of alternative treatments such as monotherapies
- Increasing attendance at ANC clinics and the use of IPT by pregnant women
- Increasing demand for parasitological diagnosis prior to treatment
Capacity Building in the Public Sector
Through assessments, capacity-building, integrated supportive supervision and regular progress reviews, MAPS is helping State officials acquire a better understanding of relevant activities in their jurisdictions, and work toward program harmonization and improved resource allocation. Improving monitoring and evaluation capacity is also a key priority area for MAPS. By the end of the project, decision makers will have access to an improved health management information system and will have received extensive material support and training, in data collection, reporting and analysis.
Improved Monitoring and Evaluation
FHI 360's powerful GATHERdata™ cell phone-based data collection and reporting technology in at least one state. The system has a wide range of applications, from clinical case management to the tracking of commodities throughout the supply chain. An open-source development, GATHERdata™ helps reduce cost-related barriers that make information technology out-of-reach for developing country institutions.
News, Publications, and Results
News
- MAPS Trains Faith Leaders in Zamfara (April 2012)
- MAPS Sponsors Diagnostics Training in Partnership with IMaD (December 2011)
- MAPS 2012 Plans Backed by Nigerian Government and Donors (December 2011)
- Dr. Abba Umar Joins MAPS as Newly Appointed Chief of Party (September 2011)
Publications
- Malaria Action Program for States (MAPS) Fact Sheet (PDF, 98kb)
- Malaria Fact Sheet (PDF, 90kb)
Contacts
| Dr.
Halima Mwenesi Senior Project Director 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20009 +1 (202) 884-8086 hmwenesi@fhi360.org |
|
Dr. Abba Zakari Umar Chief of Party aumar@fhi360.org |