Category: Field Notes

This week’s fist bump goes out to the VectorLink Ghana team for organizing an overhaul of their communications materials in collaboration with government stakeholders and community members to improve community engagement. The update to social and behavior change (SBC) messaging aims to address barriers to IRS acceptance.

Key representatives from the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), the regional health directorates from Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Environmental Protection Agency, and former seasonal staff directly involved in community engagement worked together for four days, revising two existing posters, finalizing a booklet for general community education, developing a cheat sheet for health volunteers and spray teams, and revising SBC messaging to address current concerns and misconceptions serving as barriers to IRS acceptance.

Materials were pre-tested when groups visited a nearby community to try out the newly developed or revised messages, gaining direct feedback from the community members and IRS implementers (former spray team members).

The review, incorporating diversity in skills and perspective, provided insight into community understanding surrounding IRS messaging and its relationship with other vector control methods. Now, the project aims for a quick turnaround to produce the revised materials in time for enhanced community engagement that will help the Ghana team succeed with the 2022 spray campaign.

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to Peter Kalenga (VL Zambia Senior ITN Advisor), Mkhululi Ngwenya (VL Zambia M&E Officer), and the VectorLink Zambia team for their support to the school-based distribution of ITNs to four districts in Eastern Province earlier this month.

In the span of the five-day campaign, more than 51,000 ITNs procured by PMI were distributed to pupils in Grades 1 and 4 across 426 schools in Chadiza, Chipangali, Katete, and Petauke districts.

Throughout activity planning and implementation, Peter led VL Zambia’s collaboration with the NMEP and Ministry of Education, as well as the PMI-funded PAMO+ project (which supported social behavior change activities) and GHSC-PSM project (which worked with third party logistics organizations to transport the nets from the central level to the schools). VectorLink provided support to the NMEP in the planning of the campaign, as well as orientation and cascade training sessions for MOH and MOE staff at provincial, district, zonal and school levels, and supervision during distribution.

On the data side, Mkhululi supported the NMEP in establishing a program within Zambia’s DHIS2-based Malaria Rapid Reporting system, allowing data from this school-based distribution to be viewed alongside data from other vector control interventions occurring in these districts. Data entry is currently ongoing.

Kudos to Peter, Mkhululi, and team for this true multisectoral collaborative effort!

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to Sidiman Diabate, PMI VectorLink Mali’s Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO), for his ingenuity in completing environmental compliance (EC) inspections under challenging conditions.

In the lead-up to an IRS campaign, the ECO’s assessment of operations sites is a key activity to complete prior to the delivery of insecticide to the site. The ECO must use a mobile form for the assessment, completing it during the physical observation. The ECO also must take several pictures showing the condition of the insecticide store, soak pits and the layout of the operations site. The information is used to develop the work plan to remediate deficiencies and for the insecticide delivery authorization meeting with the HO team.

The PMI-supported IRS campaigns in Mali are in the Mopti region, which has security challenges that make certain target communities inaccessible to non-residents. Two operations sites (Niacongo 1 and Manako) are located within areas that our ECO cannot safely access.

To ensure all EC requirements were considered for the IRS campaign, Sidiman used a lot of ingenuity to complete both initial and final pre-season EC assessments (PSECA) on time. He worked closely with the health post nurse to remotely get the necessary information for both PSECAs. Under Sidiman’s direction, the health post nurse lead the sites rehabilitation while he provided guidance and recommendations for each step. Using pictures shared by the health post nurse, they had daily discussions to ensure adequate quality. As a result, the VL Mali team was able to obtain the authorization to deploy insecticide on time in all 19 operations sites in both 2020 and 2021.

Sidiman replicated the same tutoring system to complete supervisory inspections during the spray campaign as well as final inspections at the end. After a successful IRS campaign, Sidiman and the VL Mali team are delighted to have completed the 2021 spray season without any incident.

Well done, Sidiman! Thank you for all your dedication!

Our webinar on the use of data in decision-making in vector control was yesterday, so it’s fitting to give a fist bump to the people who made it possible.

Laurent Iyikirenga, COP for VectorLink Benin, moderated expertly. It is not easy having a webinar in not just one, but two different languages–English and French. It was no problem for Laurent, who provided great context on our speakers, fluid transitions, and moderated the chat for the Q&A.

We also need to thank our presenters, Dr. Saraha Rabeherisoa, Dr. Raymond Tabue, and Dr. Emmanuel Kooma from the NMCPs in Madagascar, Cameroon, and Zambia, respectively. Their presentations were very informative, and we were lucky to have them share their expertise.

We also could not have done this without PATH Malaria, especially Sarah Burnett, who coordinated the content with our speakers, thus ensuring an informative webinar.

Thank you, Laurent, Sarah, and everyone else involved for all your hard work.

If you missed the webinar or want to watch it again, the recording is available on the Vector LearningXChange in its original format along with the French and English translations. The PowerPoints are also available to view, with their translations coming in the next week.

 

This week’s fist bump is extra special as we get to highlight several of our country teams who are all fully vaccinated against COVID-19! VectorLink Liberia, Mali, Colombia, Cambodia, Niger, Malawi, and Mozambique join VectorLink Zimbabwe as teams that have fully vaccinated staff.

Vaccine supply shortages and misinformation are some of the many challenges associated with vaccination, but these teams showed that these challenges can be overcome.

Well done, VectorLink!

 

The VectorLink Zambia team is excited to report that Zambia recently set up a Continuous Distribution (CD) Task Team on insecticide treated nets (ITNs) within the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP). Special mention for this Fist Bump goes to VectorLink Zambia’s Senior CD Technical Advisor, Peter Kalenga, and Chief of Party, Dr. Nduka Iwuchukwu, for assisting the NMEP in developing the Terms of Reference and convening the CD Task Team.

The CD Task Team, which reports to the NMEP’s Vector Control Technical Working Group, advises and gives strategic direction for effective implementation of the CD activities. Specific responsibilities include development of annual operational plans, provision of program oversight, and review of progress and performance reports. Additionally, the team will review and update national continuous distribution guidelines, develop and implement plans for school-based distribution campaigns, and identify issues affecting the quality of activities and make recommendations.

The current Chair of the CD Task Team is none other than Dr Oliver Lulembo–the former Senior ITN Technical Advisor for VectorLink Zambia who is now with PMI Zambia.

To VectorLink’s knowledge, this is the first such team to exist in Africa and it is hoped that many more countries will set up similar groups to highlight the importance of CD channels, organize priority CD activities, and increase country-level resources for the implementation of CD activities. Many countries are showing interest in moving away from sequential mass campaigns and focusing more on CD to improve and sustain access to ITNs.

In collaboration with the CD Task Team, VectorLink will support a CD Assessment to understand the existing performance of the routine distribution channels through antenatal clinics for pregnant women, and to children under five through Expanded Program on Immunization clinics. Zambia has also carried out school-based distribution, including a four-district distribution planned for early October, and is considering scaling this up.

Keep up the great work, VectorLink Zambia!

At a global level, the Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP) Continuous Distribution Working Group (CDWG) is the go-to resource for all things related to CD. Its key objectives include compiling and sharing operational lessons learned, tools, and guidelines from recent and new CD activities, and responding to country requests for information, documentation and supporting guidelines for CD implementation. In addition, country partners share updates on ITN CD activities happening at a country level on a regular AMP teleconference and dedicated ITN CD calls. The co-chairs of the CDWG are VectorLink’s Senior ITN Technical Advisor, Dr. Jane E. Miller and Mr. Bala Kandeh, NMCP Manager, The Gambia.

 

 

Please join us in recognizing VectorLink Niger and their partners at Centre de Recherche Medicale et Sanitaire (CERMES) for their success in setting up a functional insectary and susceptible mosquito colony. This is a huge accomplishment and has been a long journey, as the facility was rehabilitated by VectorLink in early 2020, marked by an official inauguration ceremony last July. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic made hands-on training difficult. In addition, CERMES was tasked with handling all COVID testing for the country during this same time. These challenges resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a susceptible colony from Liverpool.

After a series of discussions leading to a mutually agreeable Memorandum of Understanding and a detailed timeline, the CERMES team demonstrated their commitment to getting the insectary up and running with the long-term objective of building national capacity for entomological monitoring in support of the Nigerien NMCP and the fight against malaria in Niger.

In August of 2020, the insectary was fully staffed, all parties were fully engaged in ensuring the success of this endeavor, and three batches of mosquito eggs were shipped to Niamey. As of this week, the CERMES team reports having so many thriving adult mosquitoes that they are running out of space in cages despite having conducted cone bioassays on 60 mosquito nets from the 36-month durability monitoring collection round! Sounds like a good problem to have!

Kudos to VectorLink Niger and CERMES for staying motivated and taking the opportunity to learn and improve. The fruits of your labor have paid off in achieving short-term objectives and will continue to support efforts to control malaria for many years to come!

This week’s fist bump goes out to the VectorLink Cote d’Ivoire team and their dedicated partners for the successful completion of the country’s second IRS campaign! No small feat especially during a pandemic.

The first ever IRS campaign in Cote d’Ivoire took place in 2020 and was a resounding success, but it also revealed some challenges such as refusals from heads of household not being on site and locked structures due to seasonal residents (like students and teachers, for instance) being away during the summer. The VectorLink team took those challenges and saw them as an opportunity to improve for the second iteration.

To improve IRS acceptance in 2021, the team dove deep into their mobilization strategy and developed a tailored information, education, and communication approach to engage local authorities, community leaders, and beneficiaries in maximizing the protective effect of IRS. District leaders and community mobilizers worked with landlords/host families to open locked structures, so they could be sprayed. This, combined with the community’s overwhelming satisfaction with the results of the 2020 campaign, enabled the team to exceed their initial targets.

The VectorLink Cote d’Ivoire team sprayed 61,594 structures, representing 104.9% progress and 96.8% coverage, a sizeable increase from 91.9% in 2020.  A total of 203,926 people were protected, which is 101.6% of the targeted beneficiaries.

Big congratulations to our VL colleagues who once again demonstrated their commitment to protecting their compatriots from malaria, and huge thanks to our partners within the Ministry of Health, NMCP, and Sakassou and Nassian administrative authorities for their unwavering support and enthusiasm for this arduous work!

This week’s Fist Bump goes out to VL Ethiopia’s Environmental Compliance Officer Getinet Awoke for his great perseverance, adaptability, and resilience during the most recent IRS campaign. The 2021 VL Ethiopia IRS campaign has undoubtedly been the most challenging campaign on record for the country. The success of the three IRS phases is a testament to the dedication of the exceptional country team and the strong relationships and mutual trust that VL has built with the NMEP.

In addition to preparing operations sites in three PMI-supported regions (Gambela, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia), Getinet ensured that 98 operations sites in the new spray region of Amhara were ready for environmentally-compliant operations — a feat that was not easy to achieve.

From navigating complex security concerns which resulted in unavailability of transportation and construction vendors, managing an ECOS visit, securing an MOU for appropriate solid waste recycling facility, to training supervisors in preparation for a community-based IRS model, this required careful planning and strategic actions by Getinet and team.

VL team’s dedication to achieving and exceeding the required IRS coverage target under these conditions is nothing short of heroic. Thank you Getinet and the entire VL Ethiopia team for your sacrifices and your commitment to saving lives!

We don’t normally Fist Bump the same country team two weeks in a row, but we’re in a pandemic and this is too good not to share. So here we are Fist Bumping VL Zambia for their collaboration with the country’s Nchelenge District in Luapula Province to help deliver the COVID vaccine to island communities. Nchelenge is one of the 21 districts where VectorLink will conduct IRS in 2021 in support of the NMEP. This will be the second year that IRS is implemented on the district’s two islands, Kilwa and Chisenga, which are approximately 75 km and 60 km, respectively, from the mainland and can only be accessed by boat. With rough waters limiting the boat’s speed, the journey to each island typically takes about six hours. This poses significant logistical challenges to the implementation of IRS as well as other routine health activities.

VectorLink recently began recruiting seasonal workers to implement this year’s IRS campaign. Due to recent spikes in the COVID-19 positivity rate in Zambia, the NMCP has recommended all health workers involved in the 2021 IRS campaign be vaccinated against COVID-19. As the team made arrangements to travel to Kilwa and Chisenga for IRS recruitment, the Nchelenge District Health Office asked the project if there was space in the boat that project staff and GRZ partners had fueled. The district had recently received an allocation of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines but was struggling with how to get the vaccines to the island communities.

VectorLink agreed. The result? A win-win initiative, which enabled vaccines to be delivered to the islands to protect community members against COVID-19, including seasonal workers who were recruited by VectorLink to support the 2021 spray campaign on both islands.

Nchelenge District Public Health Officer Kadolo Muntanga oriented health facility staff in both Kilwa and Chisenga islands on the use of the J&J vaccines and spoke to prospective spray operators on COVID-19 prevention. Following his address, all 59 seasonal staff selected to support the IRS campaign were vaccinated.

“In situations of disease outbreaks, sending health staff from the mainland to the two islands is a logistical challenge and expensive for the district. It means that funds meant for other programs will be diverted and used to reach these areas for such emergencies. We are grateful to VectorLink for partnering with the district on last-mile delivery of COVID-19 vaccines within the district,” said Muntanga.

Congratulations, VL Zambia for going the extra mile!