| Project Detail |
Project outline and objectives Overall, the Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) project aims to ensure that: • the malaria positivity rate declines to seven percent by 2020 in accordance with the National Malaria Reduction Strategic Plan’s target • all 25 districts are adhering to the test, treat and track principle, meaning that all fever patients are tested, and that all positive cases are treated and registered in national databases • all facilities providing antenatal care (ANC) services are following World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (i.e. women receive at least three doses of sulfadoxinepyrimethamine from the second trimester of pregnancy) • the distribution of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to pregnant women during their first ANC visit increases from 17 percent in 2017 to 84 percent in 2022 in accordance with national ANC targets • health facilities are feeding high quality malaria data into the District Health Information System 2, which is being used to optimise strategies and interventions. Activities Within the broader scope of RHITES-E, Malaria Consortium supports districts with the delivery of malaria prevention and treatment interventions that are in line with WHO guidelines and the Uganda Malaria Reduction Strategic Plan 2014–2020. The priorities set out in the strategic plan include malaria vector control, case management, prevention and treatment in pregnancy, advocacy, social and behaviour change interventions, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and operational research. We also support the project’s MNC activities, which are integrated with interventions targeting nutrition, family planning and mother-to-child transmission of diseases such as HIV and syphilis. For example, health workers can test pregnant women for malaria, HIV and syphilis in the same visit. Through integration, RHITES-E avoids duplication of services, increases coverage and helps ensure that a continuum of care is provided during pregnancy, delivery and the postnatal phase. Specifically, Malaria Consortium is: • training midwives on basic MNC care skills • training health facility workers on integrated malaria management, malaria in pregnancy, continuous net distribution and rapid diagnostic test quality assurance • providing health workers with on-site training and mentorship to guarantee the quality of services • monitoring health facilities’ distribution of LLINs • training 45 laboratory technicians to assist Ministry of Health laboratory specialists in conducting external quality assurance for malaria diagnosis • training senior clinical officers and medical officers to carry out clinical audits of severe malaria case management • providing technical assistance to health facility and government staff to improve data quality, hold data review meetings and use data to drive district planning, costing and accountability • working across district, health facility and community levels to ensure that services are integrated where possible so patients can access a range of services in one visit • raising community awareness and holding promotional meetings on malaria prevention and control. Learning objectives The project aims to learn: • how training improves the laboratory diagnosis of malaria and health workers’ case management performance • how integrating malaria interventions with other health services affects the interventions’ quality |
