Optimizing Impact Through Intentional Spraying

Many of us have heard the phrase “work smarter not harder.” VectorLink Madagascar put that into action for their past IRS campaign. This week’s Fist Bump goes to VL Madagascar, especially Operations Manager Rodrigue Anagonou, for using spray progress rate stratification to maximize the impact of its IRS campaign.

Spray progress rate stratification means that the team concentrated on reaching ≥100% spray progress in communes within each district that have a high malaria incidence while aiming for at least 90% spray progress in communes with low malaria incidence. Previously, the team focused on spraying eligible structures in the entire intervention area equally. The new approach, which used epidemiological data like malaria case incidence, allowed the team to concentrate their resources in areas where they were most needed, while still ensuring that the entire intervention area received good IRS coverage in relation to spray progress.

Within each of the five districts where VL Madagascar sprayed, there are communes reporting high, medium, or low incidences of malaria. Rodrigue thought that it would be more cost effective to pay particular attention to communes with higher malaria incidence rates during the 2022 IRS campaign to ensure greater impact on malaria transmission in these districts. Striving for ≥100% spray progress in communes with high malaria incidence rates supports the team in achieving near total coverage of eligible structures, because it accounts for new structures that may have been built after the initial counting was done.

This approach was accompanied by strong mobilization of community members, leading to continued high spray coverage rate: 98.6%! Village leaders also helped spray teams get access to remote areas initially marked as inaccessible, resulting in a progress rate of 108.7%.

Great use of epidemiological data to support a high-impact IRS campaign, Rodrigue and VL Madagascar!