Liberia National Malaria
Control
Overview
O Liberia’s National Malaria Control Program is
one of many Malaria Control Programs set up
in various malaria endemic countries across
Africa.
O It was setup following the establishment of
the Rollback Malaria Program. The program
receives funding mainly from the Global Fund
to setup and implement interventions to
reduce the malaria infection across Liberia
Aim of Internship Program
O To learn more about public health policy
formulation and implementation in developing
countries.
O To learn more about innovative techniques
adopted to solve public health problems.
O To gain a feel of a public health job, and to form
acquaintances for future collaborative work.
Projects/ Work
O 1. In collaboration with Clinton Health
Access Initiative, Montserrado County Health
Pharmacist’s Office, and Derek Willis,
Princeton alumni and currently of Columbia
Earth Institute, worked on creating a digital
map of all health facilities in Montserrado
County of Liberia.
Map showing health facilities on Tubman
Boulevard in Monrovia
O 1. Worked with Mosquito net distribution
and spraying team to help monitor spraying
of rooms in Bong County of Liberia.
O Sat in at key stakeholder meetings of the
agencies of the Ministry of Health.
O Attended malaria training workshop for
nurses.
Outcome
O Learned a lot about how public health policy
decisions are made and implemented taking into
consideration the culture and socio-economic
backgrounds of the target people.
O Successfully help created a digital map that will be
used for future research by researchers at the
Columbia Earth Institute, and monitoring work by
Mentor Initiative, Clinton Health Access Foundation
and County Health Pharmacist’s Office in Liberia.
O Learned a lot about the importance of networking
and collaboration when working on a project.
Future
O Amazing experience!
O Solidified my interest in pursuing a Global Health
and Health Policy Certificate.
O Provided me a strong foundation for future
global health research.
O Formed acquaintances for future collaborative
work in Global Health.
UNICEF Proposal - Child
Survival
O Working with multiple offices in the
department of health (HIV/AIDS, Expanded
Program on Immunization, Nutrition, etc)
O Building capacity in the different counties,
typically through training, supervision, and
monitoring and evaluation
O Piggybacking different programs on each
other to increase efficiency and maximize
utilization of resources
Community case management
O Pilot project in three counties by four
implementing partners
O Management of cases of malaria in the
communities, integrated with existing
community treatment of pneumonia and
diarrhea
IEC – Newsletters
O Production of deliverables: newletters
detailing various initiatives and programs
run by the NMCP
O Malaria in Pregnancy, LLINs, IRS
M & E LLINS
O Discrepancies in the data – all nets given
out, but not all nets used
O Plans for more IEC/BCC
O Plans for more pre- and post-
supervision/data collection
Meetings – 2 Year Operational
Plans
O All the different departments presented
their 2-year operational plans to one
another, at the national level.
O Training, Supervision, Procurement
O All the different counties presented 2-
year operational plans in a 3 day
conference
O Address specific issues like resource
management/optimization
O Coordination between national and county MoH
Meetings – Private Sector ACT
O ACT is the main malaria drug available in
Liberia. It is available in public health
facilities for free
O Various private sector implementing
partners met to discuss distribution,
supply chain management, storage,
security, and the selection of local
distributors
Outcomes
O Several deliverables: newsletters, funding
proposals, budgets, reports, powerpoint
presentations, and policy documents
O Gained an understanding of the interaction
between federal and county health teams, and
their different responsibilities
O Networking with various partners, such as CDC,
PMI, Clinton Foundation, and the Tony Blair
Initiative
Future
O Considering a Masters of Public Health
O Considering working in local level rather
than federal government, to have a greater
implementing role
O Considering field work in whatever career I
eventually pursue