VL Ethiopia’s IRS Campaign, a Logistical Masterpiece

This week’s Fist Bump goes to PMI VectorLink Ethiopia, a team that is no stranger to navigating an IRS campaign around challenging circumstances. With targeted districts of varying risk, the team had to exercise high levels of flexibility and grit.

To adapt to these circumstances, VL Ethiopia worked with the NMEP, Regional Health Bureaus, Zonal Health Departments and District Health Offices, to classify targeted areas by their risk level: high, medium, and low risk. High risk areas were excluded from the IRS operation as they were inaccessible to both local government entities and outsiders. In areas with medium risk, VL Ethiopia provided training for government staff, all necessary equipment and supplies, transport where possible, and remote technical assistance. These areas were only accessible by residents, so the IRS campaign was led by government district health staff like the malaria focal person. In areas with low risk, communities accessible to both locals and outsiders, VL Ethiopia and their government partners carried out and provided in-person supervision to the IRS campaign.

VL Ethiopia utilized a wide variety of adaptation methods. Learning from the 2021 IRS campaign, the team anticipated that vehicle supply would be limited. To overcome this, the team started with traditional vehicle procurements (consolidated into few orders) and prepared a contingency plan to hire individual vehicle owners who already lived in the targeted areas and knew how to operate in areas with security risks. The government was also able to supply vehicles, and the team also utilized buses and on occasion, flights, to transport people and materials safely.

The team also switched from district-based to community-based IRS when necessary. With the community-based approach, spray teams were already living in the communities they would be spraying. In this model, far fewer vehicles are needed, and they are used mostly to transport IRS materials. The disadvantage is that the team is not able to supervise in person, but the mutual trust and commitment of the local government counterparts made it possible to deliver IRS at PMI standards in even the most constrained localities.

These efforts paid off. VL Ethiopia’s 2022 IRS campaign achieved 99% spray progress and 97% spray coverage across all four targeted regions. The team also went above and beyond to spray three refugee camps with short notice. Based on the number of structures found, the team achieved a spray coverage of 99% in the camps.

Excellent work, VL Ethiopia! This was no easy feat. And extra kudos to M&E Manager, Anteneh Mitiku who flawlessly oversaw the IRS campaign’s M&E activities while simultaneously supporting critical elements of the high-intensity startup of the Larval Source Management activity.