Malaria indicator survey to support national control programmes

In areas where malaria transmission rates are moderate to high, the progress of malaria control is mainly evaluated using national household surveys such as Malaria Indicator Surveys (MIS), Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) or UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). These are then complemented by data from Health Management Information Systems (HMIS).

Household surveys provide estimates of national and regional population every two to five years. However, this focus on average estimates does not take into account that the levels of transmission are very diverse within countries and districts. Also, control efforts include additional interventions – such as indoor residual spraying (IRS) – that target highly affected areas.

It is widely recognised that more accurate estimates could help optimise the efforts to control malaria transmission at the national level, but there are no recommended standardised survey tools for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at the district level.

There is increasing focus on reducing malaria transmission and using ACT drugs at population level. The use of ‘rolling’ household surveys, where data is collected over one or several years by small permanent teams – could become a complementary tool to national malaria surveys in selected settings, to determine the progress of malaria control. This includes disease transmission, disease burden, intervention coverage and access to ACT drugs within districts.

Drug-based Strategies
Impact of Interventions
Surveillance
Vulnerable Populations

Jul 2013 — Jul 2013

$77,477

Malawi