Accelerating malaria control and elimination efforts in Nigeria — AMCEEN

Outcomes and impact

Reduction in malaria cases and deaths by strengthening capacity for subnational data-driven planning and tailored implementation of malaria programmes. Malaria Consortium is taking a structured health systems approach to develop stronger state malaria programmes that are positioned to adopt and adapt new malaria tools, creating a model for scale-up elsewhere in the country.
Tailored, targeted and context-adapted malaria programme interventions for state-level implementation. The overarching outcome of this collaboration is refocused
attention on efficient and data-driven malaria operational planning processes that align with a redefined malaria vision and broader health strategies at state level.

Despite the significant past impact of malaria campaigns and routine interventions in Nigeria, progress towards malaria elimination has plateaued. Malaria continues to be a major public health concern and the leading cause of under-five mortality, with Nigeria accounting for nearly a quarter of global malaria cases.^[1] Achieving further reductions in malaria will require a more nuanced approach that better responds to the considerable subnational variability of malaria in Nigeria by targeting available resources for the greatest impact. Doing so will require a renewed focus on high-quality data and enhanced data use for planning and programme implementation. It will also depend on better and refocused planning processes that align resources with interventions and that are contextualised to fit specific subnational needs.
 

A subnational tailoring exercise in 2019–2020 comprehensively stratified the malaria context in Nigeria to guide the delivery of targeted interventions down to the local government area (LGA) level.^[2] While the information has guided programme planning by government and funders at the national level, these tailored data-driven strategies have not been incorporated into targeted malaria programming at local levels.
 

Operational planning is required to convert states’ strategic visions into a detailed workplan that can be implemented accurately and effectively.

Malaria Consortium, in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR), is supporting Kano state health sector stakeholders (State Ministry of Health, State Primary Health Care Board and the State Malaria Elimination Programme) to carry out subnational tailoring of their malaria programmes by strengthening evidence-based and data-driven malaria planning at the LGA and state levels.

Together with CHAI and Kano health sector stakeholders at state and LGA levels, Malaria Consortium has carried out comprehensive stakeholder mapping and developed a rapid health system appraisal tool for use at the LGA level. A desk review and rapid health system pillars appraisal at the LGA level has informed planning.

The project team has developed malaria operational planning capacity strengthening modules and a training plan to underpin cascade training to the LGA. Malaria Consortium is supporting the development of LGA-level malaria operational plans, conducting validation and integration, and consolidation with the state operational plan. The LGA level operational plan will undergo twice-yearly review.