Ensuring quality data from the 2016 SMC campaign by strengthening training strategies

In preparation for the 2016 SMC distribution, training strategies have been reviewed in CRS supported countries: Mali, Guinea, The Gambia and Niger. As part of this review, countries worked to adapt the 2016 SMC Field Guide, developed by Malaria Consortium to provide guidance for SMC training and service delivery, to their local contexts. Countries also collaborated with Speak Up Africa to adapt SBCC tools, revise routine data collection tools and add digital data collection processes, all with a critical focus on data quality assurance and achieving 100% coverage of eligible beneficiaries. 

In an effort to reach 6.9 million eligible children for the 2016 SMC campaign, each ACCESS-SMC country has approximately doubled its target number of beneficiaries. As a result, additional Community Health Workers (CHW), Health Facility Workers (HFW) and district, regional and central level supervisors from across the health systems will be trained in SMC delivery. National Malaria Control Programs across the four CRS supported countries have mobilized a total of approximately 13,000 health workers who will be trained and will engage in SMC delivery and results measurement during the upcoming SMC campaign. 

As well as treatment responsibilities, the CHWs, HFWs and supervisors must also collect and verify beneficiary treatment data generated during the SMC distribution and, as such, will receive the necessary training to be equipped to carry out these roles. This has created an opportunity to deepen the linkages within the health systems between provision of SMC treatment and the collection, timely analysis and use of SMC treatment data in an effort to ensure quality delivery of SP+AQ to all eligible children and to determine impact against national goals to decrease malaria morbidity and mortality in children under five.