Community Engagement for Malaria
Elimination Workshop
22-24 November 2011
Centara Duangtawan Hotel,
Chiang Mai, Thailand
APMEN (asia pacific malaria elimination network)
• The Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) was
established in 2009 to bring attention and support to the
under-appreciated and little-known work of malaria
elimination in Asia Pacific, with a particular focus on
Plasmodium vivax.
• APMEN is composed of eleven Asia Pacific countries (Bhutan,
China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, the Solomon
Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vanuatu) that are pursuing
malaria elimination, as well leaders and experts from key
multilateral and academic agencies.
APMEN (asia pacific malaria elimination network)
• The mission of this diverse but cohesive Network is to
collaboratively address the unique challenges of malaria
elimination in the region through leadership, advocacy,
capacity building, knowledge exchange, and building the
evidence base.
Aims and Objectives Workshop
• To showcase current/ active examples of community
engagement and participation for malaria control/ elimination
within the APMEN Country Partners.
• To review historical examples of community engagement and
participation in infectious disease elimination programs.
• To draw lessons from these examples and begin building
consensus on good practice for the design of scalable models
of community engagement for malaria elimination.
• To explore the additional challenges of achieving synchronous
cross-border community engagement for malaria elimination.
National Malaria Elimination Plan
Goal:
Malaysia to be certified malaria free (eliminated) by 2020
Objectives:
1. Malaria elimination in Peninsular Malaysia by 2015 and in
Sabah & Sarawak by 2020
2. 20% annual reduction of local malaria incidence in
Peninsular Malaysia
3. 15% annual reduction of local malaria cases in
Sabah/Sarawak
4. Reduction of malaria deaths - 50% annually
24.5% pop. at risk
19.7% pop. at risk
0.4% pop. at risk
Malaria cases :Sarawak 42% and Sabah 40%
What we want to achieve in
Communication and Community Engagement
• Improved knowledge and awareness among
population at risk
• Empowerment community mobilization to
control malaria
• To assist in case surveillance, vector control,
early detection and prompt treatment, and
response to outbreak
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
1
Advocacy to increase awareness and
commitment to the elimination
program
Moving from questions of What and Why to How
How?
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
2
Supportive environment decentralization of resources and local
decision making, adequate human
resources
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
3
Identifying and mobilising local
stakeholders and social networks
through consensus building processes
Considering the realities of people
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
4
Intersectoral collaboration (Agriculture,
Education, private sector, development
agencies etc.)
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
5
Local-level action-orientated research
(where there are gaps) as part of an
initial scoping mission that will build
community partnerships and inform
community mobilisation and behaviour
change communication strategies
Intervention planning based on dialogue
“world cafe”
“world cafe”
“world cafe”
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
6
Integration of malaria interventions
with activities addressing other
community health and disease priorities
(Primary Health Care approach);
• Village Health Representative Program (WKK) in Sarawak
• Basic Health Care Volunteers Program (SPKA) in Sabah
• Primary Health Care Volunteers in Peninsular Malaysia
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
7
Targeted implementation of locallyappropriate, multi-level behaviour
change communication to maintain
attention and motivation for
participation in malaria elimination
Unknown how intervention will be: not based on assumptions!
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
8
Reporting systems that support
community feedback to decision
makers and the flow of information on
program progress to communities
Basic principle: one size does not fit all
Community engagement for malaria
elimination
9
Monitoring and evaluation of
community participation activities
Learning from experiences
Key BCC achievements
• Excellent coordination between two country teams
• Harmonized/bi-lingual IEC materials
• Cross-border training on innovative approaches
• Coordinated activities on special events
• Use of innovative BCC approach on mobile and
migrant workers i.e. use of malaria corners
(engagement of private sector)
Successes Malaria Elimination in Malaysia
• Involvement and commitment of community leaders
• Established and well organized of Village Health Workers
Program
Challenges Malaria Elimination in Malaysia
• Inaccessible area
• Sustainability of volunteer
• Incentive for volunteer – Monetary incentive due to
administrative issue.
• Resistance and communication break-down (plantation
community)
Next Step…
• Increasing of volunteer
• Increasing the scope of volunteer roles (e.g.
microscopy and other aspects of primary health care)
• Extend participation within plantation community
• Involvement of volunteer in environmental
management (e.g. maintenance of drainage system,
automatic siphon, subsoil drainage control drains
and streams etc for larva control
Think out of box
THANK YOU