Chad

Communicable diseases, such as diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections and malaria, are the major contributors to death among the population of Chad, which has some of the world’s highest under-five mortality rates. Around two thirds of Chad’s total population live in areas of high malaria transmission, principally in the southern half of the country. In 2019, there were an estimated 3.19 million cases of malaria and 9,000 deaths in the country. We work closely with the Ministry of Health in addressing this through our seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) programme.   

Strengthening the pneumonia response in Chad 

Chad has one of the world’s highest under-five mortality rates (119 deaths/1,000), with pneumonia accounting for 23.3 percent of these deaths. The Every Breath Counts (EBC) Coalition has ranked Chad as its top priority country. Drawing on our experience in conducting large-scale studies, we are supporting the Ministry of Health to develop a suitable strategy to improve pneumonia case management.

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SMC programme 

Malaria Consortium has been a leading implementer of SMC since WHO issued its recommendation to scale up this intervention in 2012. Since 2018, we have continued to support national malaria programmes in Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Togo. In 2021, our programme aims to reach more than 16 million children in Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Togo. We will continue our research in Mozambique and have started a similar study in Uganda.

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ACCESS-SMC

ACCESS-SMC was a UNITAID-funded project, led by Malaria Consortium in 2014-2017, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, to support the National Malaria Control Program in scaling up access to seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) to save children’s lives across seven countries in the Sahel.  

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Malaria Consortium in Chad 

Malaria Consortium established an office in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, in May 2016 as part of its ACCESS-SMC project and have continued to deliver seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) projects in the country since then. In 2021, Malaria Consortium supported SMC in 26 health districts in Chad, to reach over one million children under five.

We work with government and implementing partners to plan campaigns, increase community engagement, distribute antimalarials and undertake operational research to provide technical advice and the necessary evidence for the Ministry of Health and other partners to make informed decisions about adaptation and innovation in SMC at regional and national levels.

In 2022, we also began a project to strengthen the pneumonia response in country to assess and improve pneumonia case levels in the country. Drawing on our experience in conducting large-scale studies, we will support the Ministry of Health to develop a suitable strategy to improve pneumonia case management.

View the country strategy

Areas of Focus

Seasonal malaria chemopreventionPneumonia case management

With high levels of malaria transmission during a short rainy season, central areas of Chad can benefit from implementation of SMC - a particularly effective treatment recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for preventing malaria in children between three and 59 months during peak transmission periods. Through our SMC programme, Malaria Consortium works with government and partners to protect children from malaria.  

As well as consistent delivery of SMC in Chad since 2016, Malaria Consortium is committed to contributing to the evidence base on SMC, using our expertise to conduct research that address knowledge gaps related to SMC delivery, quality and impact to allow international and country partners to make informed decision on SMC policy and practice.

In Chad, routine household surveys conducted to evaluate coverage and quality of SMC delivery suggested that administration of SPAQ to children over the age of five is not uncommon. We conducted a mixed-methods study in the health district of Massaguet to explore perceptions of the feasibility and acceptability of extending SMC to older children, as well as the barriers to the correct delivery of SMC to the current target age group.  We have also conducted analysis to assess the impact of SMC on suspected and confirmed malaria cases in Chad using routine clinical data as well as a study to determine the accuracy of data submitted to the national electronic Health Management Information System (HMIS) HMIS. In 2020, the emergence of COVID-19 required adapting the delivery of our SMC programme. We undertook a study evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of using the role model approach to improve administration of seasonal malaria chemoprevention drugs in Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo.

Chad has one of the world’s highest under-five mortality rates (119 deaths per 1,000), with pneumonia accounting for almost a quarter of these deaths. The Every Breath Counts (EBC) Coalition has ranked Chad as its top priority country. To date, little has been done to assess and improve pneumonia case management in Chad. Drawing on our experience in conducting large-scale studies, we are supporting the Ministry of Health to develop a suitable strategy to improve pneumonia case management.