LEARNING COMMUNITY COUNTRIES

Ethiopia

Ethiopia, a proven leader in malaria control, is scaling up
its malaria control efforts
through an integrated approach to health services delivery.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) is supporting four major areas of intervention for malaria control: 

  • Case management by community-level Health Extension Workers.
  • Indoor residual spraying.
  • Distribution of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs).
  • Information, education and communication/behavior change communication (IEC/BCC) and community mobilization through countrywide implementation of community conversations.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is the chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Board and a vocal champion for malaria control scale-up. The national malaria control program has made remarkable progress with his support and a strong partnership including the Global Fund, USAID, the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Bank Booster Program, the Carter Center, the Malaria Consortium, and UNICEF. Perhaps the partnership’s most notable achievement has been the distribution of 20 million LLINs in just two years—enough to meet the national goal of providing at least two LLINs to 100% of at-risk households.

In late 2007 MACEPA worked with Ethiopia’s MOH and its partners to conduct its first national-scale malaria indicator survey (MIS), which will measure coverage of key malaria control interventions including prompt and effective treatment and insecticide-treated mosquito net (ITN) ownership and use.  MACEPA worked with the national team to plan and design the survey, provided training in MIS methods, and procured the handheld computers that were used to gather data. MACEPA is now working with the national program to analyze the survey data and develop the final report which will be available in April 2008.

As a member of the Learning Community, Ethiopia will share its experiences with LLIN scale-up, the MIS, and other aspects of malaria control with other countries embarking on similar efforts. MACEPA will also work with Ethiopia to improve monitoring and evaluation, to update the National ITN Strategy and the Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines, and to strengthen national malaria advocacy and communications efforts.

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Photo: PATH (Hana Bilak).