MCHIP is a supporting partner in the Roll Back Malaria initiative and aims to reduce the global burden of malaria morbidity and mortality. The Program will be a key contributor to the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) goal of reducing malaria deaths by half in target countries by reaching 85% of the most vulnerable groups (children under five and pregnant women) with proven and effective malaria prevention and treatment measures.With support from PMI, MCHIP is helping Ministries of Health in seven countries to accelerate malaria programming as well as with 20 Malaria Communities Program grantees in 12 countries to integrate malaria prevention and control into community-based initiatives.

MCHIP applies successful approaches and innovative practices to address malaria prevention and control comprehensively. The strategy is woman centered, recognizing that women are the primary care takers of children less than five, and is integrated appropriately within maternal and child health as well as HIV programming. It also strengthens health systems to achieve sustained scale up for malaria prevention and control.

Key areas of country-level support include:

• Malaria in pregnancy (MIP): MCHIP supports countries to address MIP prevention and control comprehensively, on a platform of focused antenatal care, recognizing that the majority of pregnant women will attend one (and often two) antenatal care visits. MCHIP supports the WHO three-pronged approach to malaria prevention and control during pregnancy – 1. Intermittent preventive treatment using an antimalarial drug; 2. long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets; and 3. prompt and effective case management of malaria episodes.
• Community Case Management (CCM): MCHIP builds on existing platforms of community level health interventions to introduce and strengthen CCM of malaria with effective antimalarials integrated with management of pneumonia with antibiotics and diarrhea with ORS and zinc. The Program contributes to the improvement, adaptation and dissemination of simplified CCM tools (including training, program implementation, and monitoring guidelines) and common indicators, and develops approaches to improve quality and integration of CCM within the national health system.

• Diagnostics and Treatment: MCHIP provides technical direction to help countries better understand diagnostic capacity and improve diagnostics and treatment. This includes support to improve the capacity of providers, lab technicians and supervisors to use diagnostic tools such as rapid diagnostic tests and microscopy.

• Long-lasting Insecticide-Treated Bed-Nets (LLINs): MCHIP supports countries to distribute LLINs, particularly through antenatal care and mass distribution campaigns.

Intermittent preventive treatment for infants (IPTi)

WHO has set in motion the process of approving (IPTi) as an additional tool for malaria control. MCHIP’s established partnerships with global, regional and national level stakeholders—including WHO, UNICEF, CH, and RBM networks and Ministries of Health—as well as its combined experience in child health, immunization and malaria, positions the Program to provide leadership and technical assistance to accelerate the implementation of IPTi, when endorsed by WHO and adopted by countries.