ASD - PAKISTAN

Malaria case management materials in Pakistan

The project aims to improve case management of malaria, including putting into practice the international policy on confirmation of malaria diagnosis and treatment with artemesinin-based combination therapy (ACT). This is particularly important in Africa, but also in countries such as Pakistan, where the disease continues to be a major public health problem.

COMDIS partners ASD, Nuffield Centre for International Health & Development, Malaria Consortium and the National Malaria Control Programme developed context-sensitive operational guidelines to help doctors, laboratory staff and managers to systematically manage cases of malaria. Subsequently, COMDIS undertook a study to assess the effectiveness of this intervention in four districts of Punjab province, Pakistan.

The results show that the use of case management guidelines and performance monitoring tools does help in improving the quality of malaria care delivery through primary care facilities. District implementation planning ensured that staff training and supervision, drugs and logistic support to implement and sustain the quality of malaria case management, were all acheived.

The package of materials has been adopted by the national malaria programme - it has already expanded this intervention to sixteen districts, and is in the process of scaling-up to all thirty five high malaria burden districts of the country. The next step for COMDIS is to support the programme to develop effective vector control interventions, especially insecticide-treated net promotion and indoor residual spraying activities.