RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To strengthen the fight against malaria, it is imperative to identify weaknesses and possible solutions in order to improve programmes implementation. This study reports experiences gained from collaboration between decision-makers and researchers from a World Bank project (Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Sahel, SM/NTD). The objectives of this paper were to identify bottlenecks in malaria programme implementation as well as related research questions they bring up. METHODS: Questionnaire addressed to National Malaria Control Programme managers and prioritization workshops were used as a medium to identify research questions. The bottlenecks in malaria programme implementation were identified in seven thematic areas namely governance, human resources, drugs, service provision, use of prevention methods, monitoring and evaluation (M and E), and public support or buy-in. The first five priority questions were: (1) compliance with drug doses on the second and third days during the seasonal chemoprevention (SMC) campaigns, (2) the contribution of community-based distributors to the management of severe cases of malaria in children under 5 years, (3) the SMC efficacy, (4) artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) tolerance and efficacy according to existing guidelines, and (5) the quality of malaria control at all levels of the health system. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: This work showed the effectiveness of collaboration between implementers, programmes managers, and researchers in identifying research questions. The responses to these identified research questions of this study may contribute to improving the implementation of malaria control programmes across African countries.
Assuntos
Antimaláricos/uso terapêutico , Artemisininas/uso terapêutico , Quimioprevenção/estatística & dados numéricos , Controle de Doenças Transmissíveis/estatística & dados numéricos , Participação da Comunidade/estatística & dados numéricos , Malária/prevenção & controle , África Ocidental , Pré-Escolar , Combinação de Medicamentos , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-NascidoRESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic required policy makers to make urgent decisions to limit the spread of the disease. International and regional health bodies and research institutions have a role in supporting decision makers and health actors in providing accurate and timely research evidence and guidance in decision making and practice. In ECOWAS region, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has experience in promoting evidence use decision making and practice as part of its role as Health Policy and Research Organisation. Promoting the use of evidence to influence policy and practice is possible through various approaches including training, the development of guides and policy briefs, the synthesis and sharing of evidence, and the organisation of meetings to share experiences. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, WAHO has deployed several approaches to bring the use of evidence to decision-makers and stakeholders to influence policy and practice. To improve practices, WAHO has organized regional training workshops on laboratory diagnostic, surveillance and simulation exercises of outbreak response for key actors, as well as webinars on different aspects of COVID-19 pandemic surveillance, coordination and management. In addition, a synthesis of the most recent evidence and epidemiologic models were developed to enlighten decision makers in selecting and implementation response interventions.