Implementation at scale

Integrated community case management (iCCM) is a proven, cost-effective approach that extends essential health services to hard-to-reach areas by enabling community health workers to diagnose, treat and refer children with common illnesses such as malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. By increasing access to timely care at the community level, iCCM reduces child mortality, advances health equity and strengthens primary healthcare systems.

Malaria Consortium was among the first to introduce and implement iCCM at scale, conducting early programmes between 2009 and 2012 in Mozambique, South Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. Since then, we have worked in close partnership with ministries of health to deliver and sustain iCCM services — supporting national strategies, training health workers and improving supervision, supply chains and data systems to embed iCCM within resilient health systems.

In practice: We are addressing health inequities in Uganda by establishing a functional iCCM programme, increasing access to effective malaria treatment for young children and preventive therapy for pregnant women — particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Elsewhere in the country, we have provided technical assistance to the government to support local health workers to use digital health reporting systems and guidance tools to improve provision of iCCM services. 

Find out how digital tools and approaches are helping us improve the quality and implementation of health interventions.

Scaling effective health interventions is essential for maximising impact and reaching more people with life-saving healthcare. We work with governments and partners to transition proven approaches into national programmes, using strong, actionable evidence that informs policy and strengthens delivery. This includes decision-making on integrating programmes for greater coverage and impact, where it is efficient and effective to do so. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is one such intervention — a highly effective life-saving intervention that has been recommended by the World Health Organization since 2012.

In practice: Malaria Consortium is a leading implementer of SMC. With partners, we led the rapid scale-up of SMC between 2015 and 2017, helping to establish it as a cornerstone of malaria prevention and reaching close to seven million children in seven countries. Since then, we have continued to support national malaria programmes to deliver SMC, generating evidence to expand delivery to new contexts in East and southern Africa. In 2024, we reached over 22.5 million children with SMC, almost half of all children reached globally with the intervention.

See how research, advocacy, quality improvements and adaptive delivery are strengthening seasonal malaria chemoprevention programmes.

The use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are among the most widespread and cost-effective prevention methods to combat mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria. We have implemented large-scale ITN campaigns in most contexts, including among communities affected by internal conflict and other security challenges, and areas with a high malaria burden. Our work supports malaria programmes and other partners to develop effective and tailored national vector control strategies. 

In practice: We develop approaches for continuous ITN distribution to maintain high coverage levels, and lead operational evaluations of ITN programmes. In Nigeria, we are undertaking a study on the epidemiological and entomological impacts and outcomes of LLIN campaigns and will use the findings to improve vector-control decisions based on a deeper understanding of the intervention’s cost-effectiveness.

Learn more about the cross-sectoral partnerships that enhance the effectiveness of our vector control interventions.