Resources

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) are cornerstone malaria prevention and control methods in Madagascar. From 2016 to 2020, non-pyrethroid IRS was deployed to complement standard pyrethroid ITNs in 14 districts with high malaria burden, targeting 5 to 9 districts each year. Districts received IRS for 1 to 3 consecutive years during the study period. This retrospective observational study uses routine data to evaluate the impacts of IRS overall, sustained IRS over multiple years, and achieving high (≥85%) IRS coverage (structures sprayed/found). We fit a multilevel mixed effects model to data from all 114 districts of Madagascar from July 2016 to June 2021. We estimated the effect of IRS exposure, consecutive years of IRS, and high IRS coverage on monthly population-adjusted RDT-confirmed malaria cases at health facility level. Facilities missing data, and communes missing geolocations were excluded, leaving 84% of records included. The model controlled for ITN survivorship, mass drug administration (MDA), precipitation, enhanced vegetation index (EVI), month, year, and district. Using the fitted model we predicted malaria cases under observed and no IRS scenarios and estimated the number of cases averted by IRS. IRS was associated with reduced case incidence and an estimated 196,075 (79,879-316,809) cases were averted in targeted districts (~15% of the 1.3m reported cases). The effect varied by district and was associated with ITN survivorship, MDA, precipitation, EVI, month and year. One year of IRS was associated with higher incidence versus two (IRR = 1.15, 95%CI = 1.03-1.29) or three (IRR = 1.16, 95%CI = 1.01-1.33). High coverage (achieved in 94% of IRS areas) was associated with a 12% lower incidence rate (IRR=0.88, CI=0.82-0.95) compared to areas with lower coverage. This study suggests that IRS together with ITNs may substantially reduce malaria incidence over ITNs alone, and high spray coverage and >1 year of IRS may confer additional benefits. This work highlights the value of routine data to evaluate the impact of intervention combinations and to inform future targeting decisions in Madagascar. (French)

PATH has been contributing to Myanmar’s healthcare transformation since 2012 and supports the government’s commitment to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. PATH provides technical support to implement innovative solutions, institutionalize sustainable engagement models, strengthen surveillance, track, and train healthcare workers, and collect and analyze data for these diseases.Myanmar has a high prevalence of infectious diseases, with rates of HIV and TB the second highest in Southeast Asia. To strengthen digital health and lab/diagnosis system, PATH is developing digital tools and innovative systems to enable more consistent HIV and TB prevention, testing, and treatment. This factsheet talks about various projects that PATH has implemented and is implementing towards tackling infectious diseases in Myanmar.

PATH has been contributing to Myanmar’s healthcare transformation since 2012 and supports the government’s commitment to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. PATH works with government, non-governmental actors, and private sector to leverage partnerships, policy advocacy, new technologies, and innovative approaches to address inequities in key health areas – nutrition, vaccines and immunization, sexual and reproductive health, infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases.This factsheet talks about the various completed and ongoing projects under family health.

In 2021, PATH undertook a subnational assessment in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria on barriers and enablers to uptake and implementation of essential maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition medicines, devices, and interventions—what we call “assets.” We conducted facility spot-checks of asset availability and interviewed healthcare providers and district health management teams on challenges and successes in the journey to scale for each of the 14 assets. The Insights Briefs summarize the findings for each focus country.

The purpose of this action brief is to review and discuss the current situation of Hepatitis-C Virus (HCV) among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in India. Further, this action brief would provide potential strategies in strengthening HCV screening, confirmatory testing, treatment initiation, and treatment completion among PWIDs in India.