Power of the People

The PMI VectorLink Côte d’Ivoire team wrapped up its third indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign last week. We all know that implementing IRS campaigns is no easy feat, and VL Côte d’Ivoire delivered fantastic results. This week’s Fist Bump goes to the VL Côte d’Ivoire team because along with high spray coverage, the team supported vaccinations of spray operators against COVID-19 and implemented a self-mobilization strategy.

The team started off on a strong note by working with the District Health Authority to sensitize the SOPs during the SOP training on the importance of vaccination against COVID-19. Local health care workers provided the opportunity for vaccination at each operational site, and VL Côte d’Ivoire helped address misinformation. In Anduzume operational site in Sakassou district, 100 percent of the SOPs were vaccinated.

This year, VL Côte d’Ivoire also introduced self-mobilization by engaging community leaders as IRS mobilizers. For this mobilization strategy, the project involved village chiefs, for they are leaders within their communities with reputable communication channels to share key messages with community members about the IRS campaign. The project held a meeting with the village chief in each community in coordination with the District Health Officer and supported by the administrative authorities to train the village chiefs on mobilization and IRS messages. The village chiefs then met with their staff in the community and with young people to share the necessary information in the local language.

With project guidance, village chiefs addressed common myths or misunderstandings about IRS and ultimately increased IRS acceptance rates within their communities. They were supported by youth volunteers to conduct door-to-door visits to share key messages about malaria prevention and household responsibilities pre- and post-spray, as well as collect mobilization data. When a refusal case persisted, the village chief elevated it to the higher Administrative Authority who was the community’s government representative.

The results speak for themselves. PMI VectorLink achieved a 98.5 percent spray coverage across both IRS target districts and exceeded both districts’ spray targets: 105 percent in Nassian and 116 percent in Sakassou (final results pending data cleaning). These results are higher than previous IRS campaigns, improving Nassian and Sakassou’s vector control and malaria health outcomes.

Way to go, VL Côte d’Ivoire! Excellent work all around.