Guardian Journalism Competition
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Pioneer Project features in Guardian International Development Journalism Competition.
Malaria Consortium’s participation in this year’s Guardian International Development Journalism Competition has seen our finalists travel to Nigeria and Uganda. The topics chosen for the journalists focus on the future of malaria control and how we are moving forward after the significant gains of the past few years in both these countries.
The professional freelance finalist, Paige McClanahan, travelled to visit Malaria Consortium’s Pioneer Project in central and western Uganda to find out more about what effect Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) for malaria can have in resource poor settings. The Uganda National Malaria Strategy has recently changed, following World Health Organisation recommendations, to state that treatment for malaria should be based on parasitological rather than presumptive diagnosis. The strategy is aiming for 85 percent access to diagnostics by 2015.
Paige, through her meetings with Malaria Consortium staff, National Malaria Control programme representatives, the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics among others was able to understand in more depth how RDTs are working globally and more specifically in Uganda and how these are shaping the future of malaria control and interventions moving forward. Paige also travelled to Hoima and Kyankwanzi districts to meet with district and community health workers who are using RDTs and to see what effect it is having on their work. Paige visited a training of district level trainers who will be training facility health workers on the use of RDTs. The trainers and health workers seemed confident that the RDTs could make a real difference in helping them to understand the actual number of malaria cases, preserving precious anti-malarial drugs and treating people for the right illness. Malaria Consortium is supporting health facility and community health workers to use RDTs.
Paige’s article, based on interviews with Pioneer project beneficiaries and partners, was the runner up to the final winner of the competition. "A matter of time" and the four associated case studies are available to read via the links below.
• “A matter of time”
• “Village benefits from New Malaria Test”
• “Rapid diagnostic test aids malaria treatment in Uganda”
• “A rapid diagnostic test for malaria is proving to be a success in Uganda”
• “The new 15-minute test for malaria”
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