Stopping preventable deaths from malaria is within our reach: It requires a sustained, forward-thinking strategy that systematically removes economic, geographic, informational, and social access barriers, and builds health care system capacity. The Community-Based Malaria Program (CBMP) gains its strength by employing locally trained and well-supervised Community Health Workers, partnering with established health delivery systems, and mobilizing the community to run the program.  Project Muso believes that lasting change will occur when community members fuel the changes in care, and are supported by partnerships with existing health systems and structures.  For this reason, Project Muso has partnered with Mali’s Ministry of Health, the DNLP, the Commune VI Health Reference Center (CSREF), the Yirimadjo CSCOM, and the Yirimadjo Community Action Committee in launching the Community Based Malaria Program as an operational research pilot.

Our goal is to create a model community-based delivery system for malaria prevention and treatment that strengthens the primary health care system.

Specific Aims

 To reduce child mortality by surpassing national targets of:
    • 85% of pregnant women and under-5 children sleeping under treated bed-nets;
    • 85% of under-5 children receiving ACT treatment within 24 hours of symptom onset;
    • 85% of pregnant women receiving two doses of malaria prophylaxis.

1. Community Health Workers provide home-based diagnosis and treatment
2. A Solidarity Fund removes financial barriers for the poor
3. Strengthening Clinical Infrastructure builds capacity to meet increased demand.        

Community-Based Malaria Prevention

Malaria is a primary cause of death of children in Yirimadjo. Each year, malaria kills more than one million people, most of them children living in sub-Saharan Africa. The Yirimadjo Community Health Center reported more than 3,000 cases of malaria in 2006, and the number of unreported cases is likely much higher. Sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can dramatically reduce the risk of infection, and would decrease number of child deaths from malaria.

To address this crisis, the Community Action Committee collaborated with the Project Muso team to develop the Community Based Malaria Prevention Program.  The goals of the program are:

1. to provide education about malaria prevention, and;
2. to distribute free bed nets to children five and younger and pregnant women.

In partnership with the Yirimadjo Community Health Center, the Community Action Committee has distributed nets at eight different sites.  The network of Community Health Promoters trained by Project Muso have been vital to this effort, efficiently distributing and organizing teaching and training for the community. Project Muso's Community Health Promoters have distributed more than 1,700 bed nets to date. Community Health Promoters teach essential skills in the prevention and treatment of malaria via:

• original theater pieces at community wide performances;
• one-on-one trainings with each community member who receives a net, and;
• complementary training with community members in their homes. 

In December 2007, Health Educators also worked with the Yirimadjo Community Health Center to help distribute several thousand additional nets through the Integrated Campaign, sponsored by many international partners, including the Canadian Red Cross; the Canadian International Development Agency; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Malaria No More; Population Services International; the President’s Malaria Initiative; the Roll Back Malaria Partnership; and the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign.