Category: Field Notes

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to VectorLink Zambia’s first three female Spray Pump Technicians and to Gender Focal Point Mary Malasa and the team for facilitating their recruitment. In Zambia, as in many countries, some IRS roles are seen as exclusive to men. One such job is the Spray Pump Technician, who ensures that the compression sprayers used by spray operators are well-maintained throughout the campaign. The technician also troubleshoots challenges as they arise during field operations. 

VectorLink Zambia introduced the role of Spray Pump Technicians during the 2020 campaign. Though the campaign ran more smoothly as a result, all 20 pump technicians engaged were men. The VectorLink team and particularly its Gender Focal Point, Mary Malasa, saw the challenge and set to addressing it.

Prior to the 2021 campaign recruitment, Mary contacted and collaborated with community leaders through the District Health Promotion Officers, encouraging females to apply for all roles, including Spray Pump Technicians. Maureen Mulama, a 28-year-old clinical officer from Katete District, noticed that a lot of people were applying for the usual positions of Team Leaders and Spray Operators, but few people seemed interested in the Pump Technician role, and decided to apply. 

“I continued to research and watched videos of pump maintenance which motivated me more as I am someone who likes challenging roles and always wants to do new things,” she said.

Maureen is one of three female Pump Technicians who will work on the campaign this year. She is joined by Kendy Njobvu (pictured top right) and Catherine Tembo, both based in Chipata District.

Best of luck to these three trailblazers and the entire VectorLink Zambia team as they count down to the start of their campaign in late September. May these three female Pump Technicians be the first of many.

Congratulations, VL Zambia for going the extra mile!

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to VL Zimbabwe for their success in getting all 12 team members vaccinated against COVID-19, with most of the team receiving either the SINOVAC or SINOPHARM vaccine. With widespread rumors circulating around the world about the vaccine, this accomplishment really shows VL Zimbabwe’s commitment to protecting public health.

Like many countries, Zimbabwe has faced vaccination supply challenges and false rumors about the vaccines, such as that it will put a chip in your body or change your DNA. VL Zimbabwe said goodbye to the rumors and hello to the vaccine. Initial doses for the team began in April with the second doses completed this week. To get the vaccine, some VL team members traveled to other provinces while others stood in long lines at large city hospitals to receive their second doses.  

For the past several months, VL Zimbabwe COP Carmen Vilanova de Denys motivated the staff to get the vaccine every Monday during the staff meeting and encouraged them to get their families vaccinated.  She reminded them that while the vaccine may not completely prevent you from getting the virus, the vaccine will minimize symptoms and reduce the likelihood of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. At the weekly meeting, staff are given a brief summary of the COVID situation in country.

Staff continue to follow preventive measures like wearing a mask, frequent handwashing, use of hand sanitizers, and maintaining proper social distancing.  In the photos, we can see some of the team members showing off their vaccination cards and how happy they are about it.

Congratulations, VL Zimbabwe!

Has your entire country team been vaccinated? If so, let me know so we can recognize your team as well.

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to VL Zambia for their forward thinking in the time of COVID. Because IRS requires long lead times of planning to be successful, VL Zambia needed to ensure that microplanning at the district level was not interrupted by COVID restrictions. PMI VL engages IRS-supported districts in microplanning meetings to develop district specific activity-based plans to confirm the areas and numbers of eligible structures to be sprayed, and secure the human and material resources required for the campaign. During the microplanning meeting, the spray calendars are also reviewed and finalized. The meeting enables the project to meet and strategize with the Provincial and District Health Promotion Officers responsible for ensuring that communities are adequately sensitized and mobilized to accept the spray activities.

In 2021, the timing of the microplanning meetings coincided with the third wave of COVID-19 in the country. Consequently, meeting in person as practiced in previous years could not happen. Working with NMEP, provincial and district authorities, VectorLink Zambia along with the NMEP, Provincial and districts health authorities decided to hold the planning meetings virtually. The challenge was to ensure all participants could connect to reliable internet for the duration of the meeting from their locations in 21 districts across three provinces.

To ensure everyone’s engagement, VectorLink purchased internet bundles for all the participants. The microplanning meetings and the Health Promotion Officers’ Orientation took place simultaneously in each of the three provinces (Copperbelt, Eastern, and Luapula) on three separate dates. The virtual meetings were conducted through a combination of on-screen presentations and break-out sessions. Towards the end of each day the Health Promotion Officers segment joined the larger microplanning meeting and presented their resolutions, which were then further discussed, agreed upon by all stakeholders and integrated into the overall microplan for each district. The meetings were attended by the NMEP, provincial and district health authorities, and the VectorLink project.

Following the conclusion of the microplanning meetings, VL Zambia and malaria partners have commenced the countdown to the 2021 IRS campaign despite the Covid-19 situation.

Congratulations, VL Zambia for thinking outside the box and keeping everyone connected and on schedule.

Let’s give a Fist Bump to VL Ghana for their willingness and success in pilot testing a digital entomology data collection tool. Entomological data is critical: we need it to understand the vector, to measure susceptibility to insecticides used in vector control, and to measure the quality and impact of interventions.  Results from data collected during entomological field surveillance inform key malaria control decisions. Last year, PMI VectorLink successfully rolled out and implemented five new entomology programs within our global VectorLink Collect database in 17 countries. This new approach to entomology data management supports comprehensive data entry, data management, and analytics for longitudinal vector bionomics, insecticide resistance, and residual efficacy data. 

Across VectorLink countries, entomological data collection has mainly been paper-based with the entomology teams conducting tests, collecting, identifying, and dissecting mosquitoes, and recording findings using paper forms. As a project, we are rapidly expanding our use of mobile data collection, which offers improvements in timely and efficient data capture, enhanced data quality controls at the point of data collection, and more efficient data cleaning processes. With PMI support, we are expanding our efforts to explore mobile data collection for entomology.  In late 2020, the project completed a comprehensive landscaping of mobile data collection options compatible with the VectorLink Collect entomology programs. Earlier this year, working in collaboration with VL Ghana, the VL headquarters M&E team began to configure and test entomology programs for mobile using the DHIS2 Android Capture Application.  Following several weeks of testing and planning, the VectorLink Ghana team recently launched an entomology mobile data collection pilot for selected entomology programs in 9 sites! 

This exciting pilot is being carried out in three phases, using both mobile phones and tablets. 

• Phase One involves testing mobile data collection for WHO cone bioassaysand non-hourly mosquito collection, identification and dissection (CID) data. Cone bioassays are used to test for spray quality and residual life of the insecticide, while the CID data is used to identify vector species and their resting and feeding behaviors.  
• Phase Twoof the pilot will use mobile data collection tools to monitor and record insecticide resistance test results; and  
• Phase Threewill support data from hourly human landing catch  

 At the end of June, VL Ghana successfully completed Phase One.  The Ghana team trained 23 people including 16 field technicians and 7 laboratory assistants to use the mobile application. The field teams then spent eight days in the field capturing data on two types of devices – mobile phones and tablets – to understand the DHIS2 Android Capture Application performance and to give us insights into the user-experience for our team. The VL Ghana team reported that both device types proved to work well.  The team conducted cone bioassay tests on different wall surfaces like cement, mud, and wood, and recorded the data using the mobile tool. A total of 688 events (544 CID events and 144 cone bioassay events) were captured in the VectorLink Collect server by the end of the Phase 1 collection period.  

The VL Ghana team will continue to support this very important pilot in the coming months, with Phases 2 and 3. The overall results from this pilot will inform the project’s approach towards expanding the use of mobile technology for entomology going forward and has the potential to serve as an example for other partners or institutions collecting entomological data. 

Big congratulations to the VL Ghana team, and the headquarters M&E and Entomology teams, for getting this important pilot off to such a strong start!  

This week’s Fist Bump goes to VectorLink Colombia for their commitment to protecting public health even when malaria prevention field activities were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, after learning that two team members from VL Colombia tested positive for COVID-19, the team went to great lengths to reduce further spread of the virus. To start, the project purchased antigen diagnostic tests for all 60 field workers in both Guapi and Timbiquí municipalities, where the project works. Unfortunately, the tests showed additional Covid cases among the team, most of which were asymptomatic. Quickly, all team members isolated at home in their rural communities apart from the three people taking care of the Anopheles albimanus mosquito colony. Those three followed VL’s strict guidelines to mitigate risks in contracting or spreading the virus.

Unable to conduct field activities, the team decided to engage field staff in a discussion about Covid prevention, risks, and vaccination via WhatsApp. While most of the rural communities in the area do not have electricity, computers or even landlines, each team member had access to a mobile phone with WhatsApp access.

Initially, the project wanted only to pass along information about the virus but soon realized the team could be involved in a more participatory approach through Covid-19 WhatsApp training. In response, VL Colombia created a WhatsApp group for each municipality and put together a program to discuss a different subject every day. Each field staff member had to reply to a prompt from their group chat with a video recording of themselves answering their question or explaining their assigned topic. There were then group discussions. Following the group discussions, the facilitators sent flyers or other videos to give the correct answers and clarify any questions.

VL Colombia effectively raised awareness about the dangers of Covid as well as the need to take mitigation measures seriously and to get vaccinated. The response from the field staff was amazing with more than 40 videos, each made with a lot of creativity, research, and diversity represented in them. Issues discussed included:

• What is a vaccine?
• What vaccines are available for COVID-19 in Colombia?
• What is Colombia’s national vaccination scheme?

One of the achievements of the course was the change in reported willingness to get vaccinated. At the beginning of the training, only 40% of the team said they were willing to get the vaccine if it became available. By the end of the course, 80% responded that they would be willing to get the vaccine.

VL Colombia COP Manuela Herrera-Varela said, “We were profoundly touched by the loss of our colleagues and want to send the message that we are united not only in the fight against malaria but in taking care of ourselves and communities against COVID-19.”

Thank you, VL Colombia. Huge acknowledgements to the team, particularly the work of the entomologists Diana Lucumí, Nicole Vargas, Nicole Alvarez, and Karent Cotazo, for making this course a success.

Stay safe out there, everyone.

 

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to VL Mozambique for their work in Zambezia Province, located in the central region of the country. VL Mozambique was recently recognized by provincial leaders for their contributions in helping to reduce malaria incidence by 6% in the province in the first six months of 2021. The region also saw a remarkable decline in malaria cases in the IRS districts during this time. This was a huge accomplishment as the region saw a rise in malaria cases in 2019-2020, after a series of natural disasters that the country experienced. Cyclones, heavy rains, and flooding often result in new breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which in turn can increase the number of malaria-carrying vectors that spread the disease.

The Zambezia Provincial Health Directorate, in collaboration with implementing partners, holds an annual malaria meeting to review the progress made in malaria control against its strategic plan objectives and discuss the way forward in the fight against malaria. During the 2020 annual meeting, which was held in December, the province set an ambitious goal, named Zambezia 6+, to reduce the number of malaria cases by half in the first six months of 2021.

At this year’s annual meeting, which was held last week from June 18-19, Zambezia’s Provincial Health Directorate awarded VL Mozambique a certificate in recognition of their efforts in supporting the malaria program and other health activities in the province.

Congratulations, VL Mozambique! Well done and thank you for the good news!! Accomplishments like these help us to remember that we are on the road to ending malaria and that our work saves lives.

Keep fighting!

 

Congratulations to VL Kenya for their success in developing multiple vector control guiding documents, which were years in the making and will help guide the country in implementing vector control interventions and activities.

For the past two years, VL Kenya has supported Kenya’s Division of National Malaria Program and the National Ministry of Health in drafting and developing the following four vector control guiding documents:

• Integrated Vector Control Strategy for Malaria Control
• Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) Implementation Strategy
• Insecticide Resistance Management Plan
• Kenya Malaria Vector Surveillance Operational Guidelines.

The documents were officially launched on June 3, 2021, in a colorful ceremony in Kakamega County, one of the malaria-endemic counties. The launch was officiated by Kakamega County Director of Health Services, Dr. John Otieno, with DNMP officials, Kakamega county officials, PMI VectorLink, and other stakeholders in attendance. VectorLink SBCC Coordinator Catherine Onyango represented the project during the official launch.

VL COP Dr. Elie Bankineza, Operations Manager Zeddy Bore, M&E manager Alexia Mshambala, and Technical Manager Dr. Kevin Opondo played a key role in ensuring the accuracy of the documents. A special shoutout to TPM Charity Ngaruro, Entomology backstop Richard Oxborough,  COP Dr. Elie Bankineza, and Operations Manager Zeddy Bore for the fantastic work over the two years together with DNMP and the Vector Control Committee of Experts (Vector Control experts and stakeholders) in ensuring the process ran as smoothly and seamless as possible.

Congratulations, VL Kenya and team, for this great technical guidance.

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to the entire VL Ethiopia team because they are beyond tough. VL Ethiopia has shown courage, dedication, and resilience in completing the first two phases of their 2021 IRS campaign in areas that have suffered unstable security conditions, which resulted in postponing or suspending operations in 14 out of 42 districts from Phases 1 and 2 (out of 3 phases total). In other districts, the campaign experienced delays due to rental vehicle driver hesitancy to travel to these areas. The team went to extraordinary lengths to sort out transportation using locally available resources under tight deadlines while still starting operations in all districts within 1-2 days of the scheduled start date. The team creatively shifted the spray calendar to reduce distances in the initial few days. Managing relationships with vendors and local health authorities under these stressful conditions is no easy feat, especially on top of the usual challenges of running a military-style IRS operation.  But VL Ethiopia did it!  

The success of these first two phases is a testament to the strength of the relationships and the mutual trust and confidence VL has built with regional and district health bureaus, which enabled the team to pivot to community-based IRS where needed, engage local resources, and protect as many people as possible from malaria, despite additional data entry and management challenges. The M&E team found innovative solutions to overcome these security and logistical challenges, such as entering data in hotel rooms to mitigate internet connectivity problems and accommodate COVID-19 guidelines. They also relocated data centers when needed to manage data flow.

When the national election date shifted from June 5^th to June 21^st, the team shifted, too. The plans for Phase 3 (which will include 6 entirely new IRS districts in a new region, requiring 98 operations sites to cover an estimated 280,000 structures) were designed in a flexible manner in anticipation of election-related disruptions. The team was able to adapt the activity schedule with minimal disruptions, all while coordinating with external partners to ensure the PBO nets are delivered within a few weeks of IRS as part of a randomized study comparing the effectiveness of PBO nets to IRS combined with standard nets.

We know that the areas that our team is unable to reach for security reasons also tend to be the most vulnerable to malaria, and the VL team’s dedication to achieving and exceeding requisite IRS coverage under these conditions is nothing short of heroic. Thanks, VL Ethiopia, for your sacrifices and your commitment to saving lives!

Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire has received 500,000 doses of the lifesaving AstraZeneca vaccine, making it the second African country in a week after Ghana to benefit from the first shipments of shots from the UN-backed global COVAX initiative.

Dissuaded by myths and misconceptions about the vaccine, many country team members were hesitant about getting their first doses. The overall sentiment in Côte d’Ivoire around COVID-19 vaccines was not very positive, but after seeing Brad, the Senior Management Team, and TPM Cecilia Flatley share their experiences with getting their first doses, the sentiment among country team members began to change. 17 out of the 21 members on the CDI team have received their first doses – that’s 80% coverage!

Zimbabwe

After moments of doubt around getting their COVID-19 vaccines, VectorLink Zimbabwe Entomologist, Dr. Hieronymo Masendu, and his wife decided to get their first vaccine shot last week, thanks to encouragement from Brad and the Senior Management Team.

He and his wife were initially dismayed when they saw the long queues at the local City Health satellite clinic. They drove to another council clinic; the story was the same – long lines. However, they learned that most of the people queuing were coming for their second mandatory shot – there were relatively few people coming for the first shot. So, Dr. Masendu and his wife braced themselves to get it done. Mrs. Masendu got hers first, making sure Dr. Masendu got his as well! The general positive talk among the people milling around at the tent at the clinic was also encouraging. After their positive experience, the Masendu’s pledged to support their community by providing transport to the clinic for groups of three or more to get their vaccines as well.

This Fist Bump Friday goes out to VL Zimbabwe and long-time IT colleague Tom Matiki (right) for winning second place in USAID’s Partners Photo Contest. Tom has served as the team’s IT

 consultant on VL Zimbabwe and on the Abt-led Zimbabwe Assistance Program in Malaria for seven years. Tom took second place in the #WeStandWithZim category of the contest. His winning photo, shown at the right, was taken during the 2020 IRS campaign in Mashonland East Province. In the photo, a spray operator is showing a family the insecticide he will use to spray their home.

Tom said he took the photo before the actual spray campaign began during a week-long social behavior change communications (SBCC) exercise with Zimbabwe’s NMCP to create IEC material for the spray season. The photo was used to design both fliers and posters to create awareness and acceptance of the IRS campaign. Apart from being recognized by USAID, Tom also won a football with the USAID logo as a part of his prize.

As you can see, when it comes to photos and vaccines, it’s worth taking the shot! Congratulations, Thomas and VectorLink Zimbabwe, for your big win!