Improving access to malaria case management for conflict-affected populations in Cameroon

Led by Reach Out Cameroon, this operational research project will develop and evaluate context-specific, community-based interventions to improve access to effective malaria case management services for IDPs and host communities in the Southwest and Littoral regions. The project is aligned with the 2019–2023 National Strategic Plan for malaria control and is supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund).To achieve these objectives, Malaria Consortium and project partners will: through a mixed-methods formative research phase, assess conflict-affected communities’ perceptions and healthcare-seeking behaviours, as well as key barriers to early malaria diagnosis, quality treatment, effective referrals and vector control interventions ,consult target communities, CHWs, health authorities and the Global Fund to inform the choice for two community engagement interventions, chosen from the following options: · demand-side: a community dialogue approach, a community scorecard system or the creation of village health clubs · supply-side: context-appropriate intervention materials for target communities, provide CHWs with refresher trainings on malaria community case management and facilitate bi-monthly supervision and mentoring by Ministry of Health staff, liaise with the NMCP, the Regional Delegations of Public Health and Regional Drug Funds to ensure a constant supply of malaria commodities, gather and analyse monthly data on progress, remedy potential issues and capture lessons learnt, as well as collect data on malaria morbidity, mortality and prevalence, assess the interventions’ acceptability to the community, CHWs, health facility workers, district and regional health authorities through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, assess the interventions’ impact post implementation by evaluating IDPs’ knowledge on malaria prevention, healthcare-seeking behaviour, service uptake and the quality of CHWs’ case management services, develop a robust research uptake strategy to inform key stakeholders and policy makers, including the publication of at least one scientific paper in a peer-reviewed journal.

Project details

Health Workforce
Humanitarian Emergencies
Impact of Interventions
Service Delivery
Social Science

Nov 2020 — Oct 2023

$371,142

Cameroon