CDC Work Began in 1984

CDC’s long history of work in Malawi began during the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported Africa Child Survival Initiative—Combatting Childhood Communicable Diseases (ACSI-CCCD) project (1984 -1998).

Highlights of this work include:

• assisting the country in testing for the efficacy of the first-line antimalarial, chloroquine
• assisting in creating the framework for a national malaria control program

The Mangochi Malaria Research Project (through 1990) and Promoting Health in Child Survival Project from 1988-1993, both supported by USAID, helped continue the work begun through ACSI-CCCD. These projects were responsible for supporting research to evaluate the current intervention recommended for pregnant women—intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp).

Blantyre Integrated Malaria Initiative

From 1998-2002, a district-wide malaria-control effort called the Blantyre Integrated Malaria Initiative (BIMI) promoted sustainable and effective strategies to manage and prevent malaria-related disease and death. BIMI was supported by the Government of Malawi, USAID, and CDC.

Its activities were conducted in Blantyre District and aimed to improve use of three important malaria interventions—case management, IPTp, and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs)—as well as to improve data collection and use of health management information systems.

Initially, information was collected to identify gaps in malaria control activities and serve as baseline measurements to monitor success of interventions. Implementation strategies were then created. Pilot projects in this one district to increase use of IPTp and ITNs eventually led to national scale-up of IPTp and ITNs.

2002 To Date

During the next 5 years, 2002 – 2007, CDC’s work in Malawi focused on providing technical assistance to Malawi’s national prevention and control program with CDC and USAID funding. In collaboration with Malawi’s National Malaria Control Program, CDC assisted Malawi in policy and guideline development, design and conduct of operations research to improve the delivery of malaria treatment and prevention interventions, implementation of intervention scale-up, and monitoring and evaluation efforts. Major activities included drug efficacy studies, operations research for anemia and parasitemia surveys, IPTp scale-up tool development, and feasibility of distributing long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets through routine immunization services. Malawi’s transition from piloting interventions to national scale-up of those efforts, aided by monitoring and evaluation activities, helped make Malawi a regional success story.

Since 2006/2007, CDC has supported the NMCP through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.

More on: President’s Malaria Initiative in Malawi