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Tag: malaria

  • Ahead of Teach to Reach 11, health leaders from 45 countries share malaria experiences in REACH network session

    Ahead of Teach to Reach 11, health leaders from 45 countries share malaria experiences in REACH network session

    Nearly 300 malaria prevention health leaders from 45 countries met virtually on November 20, 2024, in parallel English and French sessions of REACH. This new initiative connects organizational leaders tackling malaria prevention and control – and other pressing health challenges – across borders. REACH emerged from Teach to Reach, a peer learning platform with over 23,000 health professionals registered for its eleventh edition on 5-6 December 2024.

    The sessions connected community-based health workers with health leaders from districts to national planners from across Africa, Asia, and South America, bringing together government health staff, civil society organizations, teaching hospitals, and international agencies, in a promising cross-section of local-to-global health expertise.

    Global partnership empowers malaria prevention health leaders

    The sessions featured RBM Partnership to End Malaria as Teach to Reach’s newest global partner, ahead of a special event on malaria planned for December 10. Read about the RBM-TGLF Partnership…

    Request your invitation for the special event on malaria: https://www.learning.foundation/malaria

    “To end malaria, we must empower the people closest to the problem – health workers in affected communities,” said Antonio Pizzuto, Partnership Manager at RBM. “[Teach to Reach] allows us to listen to and learn from those on the frontlines of malaria control, ensuring their voices drive our global strategies.”

    Watch the REACH session focused on health leaders sharing experience to end malaria

    Voir la version française de cet événement

    Community health leaders report prevention challenges

    Health leaders described persistent challenges in malaria prevention, particularly around mosquito net usage.

    “For the mosquito nets, majority of them, mostly those who don’t come to hospital regularly, use it to do their fish ponds. Some use it to do their vegetables,” reported Ajai Patience, who works with WHO in Nigeria. Her team countered this through targeted education: “At antenatal level, we try to make them understand the importance of not having malaria in pregnancy. By the time we give them this health talk, they now calm down to use their mosquito nets. We visit them in the communities to see what they are doing.”

    In Burkina Faso, where pregnancy care is free, similar challenges persist. “Unfortunately, some don’t use their insecticide-treated nets or take their medication during pregnancy,” said Sophie Ramde, Head of Reproductive Health Services. “This remains a challenge in our region, especially with heavy rainfall.”

    What do health leaders do when there are malaria medicine or supply shortages?

    Leaders shared various approaches to medicine and supply shortages.

    “If we don’t have medicines, we request to borrow from other international NGOs,” explained Geoffray Kakesi, Chief of Mission for ALIMA in Mali.

    In DRC, Dr. Mathieu Kalemayi organized a “watch party” for this REACH session, joining with a group of 11 CSO leaders. He explained how the Ministry of Health in his district works together with CSOs on mosquito net distribution: “These organizations play a major role in community sensitization… We’ve taken the initiative to meet each time there’s a session.”

    What are barriers to access?

    Distance to treatment emerged as a critical challenge. Professor Beckie Tagbo from Nigeria’s University Teaching Hospital shared this example, shared by a colleague during the REACH networking session : “He works in a primary health care center unable to treat severe malaria. Patients must travel 60-70 kilometers to higher centers for treatment, and some lack the funds.”

    In Chad, one organization adapted by embedding healthcare workers in communities. “We live with these volunteer nurses in the villages to provide care, with community relays distributing medicines to anyone showing signs of simple malaria,” explained Moguena Koldimadji, Coordinator of the Collective of United Health and Social Workers for Care Improvement and Enhancement.

    How is climate change affecting malaria patterns?

    Participants noted shifting disease patterns due to climate change. “Unlike previous years, malaria now occurs in high altitude areas and in patients who have no travel history,” reported Mersha Gorfu, who works for WHO in Ethiopia.

    What is the value of community engagement?

    Some organizations reported success through structured outreach programs. In Kenya, Taphurother Mutange, a Community Health Worker with Kenya’s Ministry of Health, described their approach: “We have been subdivided into units as health workers. I’ve been given 100 households I visit every week. When they have problems or are sick, I refer them. When there were floods, we were given tablets to give community members to treat water.”

    How do health workers cope personally with malaria?

    Arthur Fidelis Metsampito Bamlatol, Coordinator of AAPSEB (Association for Support to Health, Environment and Good Governance Promotion) in Cameroon’s East Region, shared how personal experience shaped his work: “I had a severe malaria episode. I was shivering, trembling. It hit me hard with waves of heat washing over me… I had to take six doses of IV treatment. Since then, I’ve been advised to sleep under mosquito nets every night, along with my family members. In our association, this is one of the key messages we bring to communities.”

    What is the value of learning across geographic borders?

    Malaria prevention health leaders identified similar challenges across countries. “The challenges in DRC can be the same as in Ivory Coast and what is done in Ivory Coast can also help address challenges in DRC,” noted Patrice Kazadi, Project Director at Save the Children International DRC.

    What’s next for health leaders?

    Health leadership is more needed than ever to drive innovation and collaboration to tackle this global challenge.

    The next REACH session, scheduled for November 27, will focus on climate and health risks and barriers, in partnership with Grand Challenges Canada (GCC). Learn more about the partnership with GCC…

    This is all building up to Teach to Reach’s 11th edition on December 5-6 and the special malaria event on December 10.

    Health professionals can request invitations at www.learning.foundation/teachtoreach

    Learn more about the Teach to Reach Special Event for Malaria: https://www.learning.foundation/malaria

  • Experiences shared at Teach to Reach 10

    Experiences shared at Teach to Reach 10

    Before, during, and after Teach to Reach on 20-21 June 2024, 21,398 health workers across the Global South—from veteran national managers to newly-trained community health workers—shared their unfiltered, frontline experiences of delivering care in an increasingly complex world.

    Ahead of Teach to Reach 11, The Geneva Learning Foundation has just released the English-language collection of “Experiences shared“.

    A second collection of experiences shared by French-speaking participants is also available.

    This remarkable collection captures over 600 experiences that health workers shared, in their own words, offering rare, ground-level perspectives on how global health challenges manifest in communities.

    Themes and topics explored in this collection:

    • How we use what we learn from Teach to Reach
    • Learning culture and performance
    • On the frontlines of climate change and health
    • Health workers insights to end malaria
    • Health workers insights to fight neglected tropical diseases
    • Integration of health services
    • Health workers insights on e-health
    • 50 years of the Expanded Programme for Immunization

    Through questions that probe specific moments rather than seeking generalizations, these accounts detail personal encounters with everything from climate change’s effects on malaria transmission to the challenges of integrating immunization with other health services.

    Health workers share candid stories of their successes, failures, and innovations: using WhatsApp for vaccine advocacy, adapting disease control strategies as weather patterns shift, building community trust during mass drug administration campaigns, and more.

    While these experiences are inherently context-specific and should not be mistaken for systematic evidence, their value lies in illuminating the lived reality of health service delivery—the kind of rich, qualitative insight that often eludes formal research.

    The collection represents a mosaic of perspectives from different levels of the health system, each contributor speaking in a personal capacity about their direct observations and experiences.

    This comprehensive volume is part of Teach to Reach, an ongoing cycle of learning and exchange facilitated by The Geneva Learning Foundation.

    Contributors receive back the complete collection of shared experiences, enabling them to learn from peers facing similar challenges across contexts.

    The experiences are also available as focused thematic publications on specific topics such as malaria control, climate change adaptation, and immunization integration.

    Finally, an accompanying insights report provides concise thematic summaries and analysis of key learnings about each of the topics that were explored.

    Whether your focus is immunization, digital health, climate change adaptation, or disease control, these raw accounts provide crucial context for anyone seeking to bridge the gap between global health policy and local implementation.

    Rather than providing definitive answers, this volume offers a unique window into how health workers learn, adapt, and drive change in their communities—making it an invaluable complement to traditional evidence for understanding and improving global health delivery.

    These Shared Experiences should be required reading for global health practitioners, policymakers, and researchers interested in understanding how macro-level health challenges and interventions play out on the ground.

    The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF). (2024). Teach to Reach 10. Experiences shared (1.0). Teach to Reach 10, Online. The Geneva Learning Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13366491

    La Fondation Apprendre Genève. (2024). Teach to Reach 10. Expériences partagées (1.0). Teach to Reach 10, En ligne. La Fondation Apprendre Genève (TGLF). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13769081

  • Klepac and colleagues‘ scoping review of climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: what about the epistemic significance of health worker knowledge?

    Klepac and colleagues‘ scoping review of climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: what about the epistemic significance of health worker knowledge?

    By Luchuo E. Bain and Reda Sadki

    The scoping review by Klepac et al. provides a comprehensive overview of codified academic knowledge about the complex interplay between climate change and a wide range of infectious diseases, including malaria and 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

    The review synthesized findings from 511 papers published between 2010 and 2023, revealing that the vast majority of studies focused on malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and leishmaniasis, while other NTDs were relatively understudied.

    The geographical distribution of studies also varied, with malaria studies concentrated in Africa, Brazil, China, and India, and dengue and chikungunya studies more prevalent in Australia, China, India, Europe, and the USA.

    One of the most striking findings of the review is the potential for climate change to have profound and varied effects on the distribution and transmission of malaria and NTDs, with impacts likely to vary by disease, location, and time.

    However, the authors also highlight the uncertainty surrounding the overall global impact due to the complexity of the interactions and the limitations of current predictive models.

    This underscores the need for more comprehensive, collaborative, and standardized modeling efforts to better understand the direct and indirect effects of climate change on these diseases.

    Another significant insight from the review is the relative lack of attention given to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the existing literature.

    Only 34% of the included papers considered mitigation strategies, and a mere 5% addressed adaptation strategies.

    Could we imagine future mapping to recognize the value of new mechanisms for and actors of knowledge production that do not meet the conventional criteria for what currently counts as valid knowledge?

    What might be the return on going at least one step further beyond questioning our own underlying assumptions about ‘how science is done’ to actually supporting and investing in innovative indigenous- and community-led, co-created initiatives?

    This gap highlights the urgent need for more research on how to effectively reduce the impact of climate change on malaria and NTDs, particularly in areas with the highest disease burdens and the populations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

    While the review emphasizes the need for more research to fill these evidence gaps, this begs the question of the resources and time required to fill them.

    This is where there is likely to be value in the experiential data from health workers on the frontlines to provide insights into the mechanisms of climate change impacts on health and effective response strategies.

    The upcoming Teach to Reach 10 event (background | registration) , a massive open peer learning platform that brings together health professionals from around the world to network and learn from each other’s experiences, offers a unique opportunity to engage thousands of health workers in a dialogue that can deepen our understanding of how climate change is affecting the health of local communities.

    Experiential data has been, historically, dismissed as ‘anecdotal’ evidence at best.

    The value and significance of what you know because you are there every day, serving the health of your community, has been ignored.

    The expertise and knowledge of frontline health workers are often overlooked or undervalued in global health decision-making processes, despite their critical role in delivering health services and their deep understanding of local contexts and challenges.

    Yes, the importance of incorporating the insights and experiences of health workers in the global health discourse cannot be overstated.

    As Abimbola and Pai (2020) argue, the decolonization of global health requires a shift towards valuing and amplifying the voices of those who have been historically marginalized and excluded from the dominant narratives.

    This concept, known as epistemic justice, recognizes that knowledge is not solely the domain of academic experts but is also held by those with lived experiences and practical expertise (Fricker, 2007).

    Epistemic injustice, as defined by Fricker (2007), occurs when an individual is wronged in their capacity as a knower, either through testimonial injustice (when a speaker’s credibility is undervalued due to prejudice) or hermeneutical injustice (when there is a gap in collective understanding that disadvantages certain groups).

    In the context of global health, epistemic injustice often manifests in the marginalization of knowledge held by communities and health workers in low- and middle-income countries, as well as the dominance of Western biomedical paradigms over local ways of knowing (Bhakuni & Abimbola, 2021).

    By engaging health workers from around the world in peer learning and knowledge sharing, Teach to Reach can help to challenge the epistemic injustice that has long plagued global health research and practice.

    By providing a platform for health workers to share their experiences and insights, Teach to Reach – alongside many other initiatives focused on listening to and learning from communities – can contribute to ensuring that the fight against malaria and NTDs in the face of climate change is informed not only by rigorous scientific evidence but also by the practical wisdom of those on the ground.

    That is only if global partners are willing to challenge their own assumptions, and take the time to listen and learn.

    Moreover, the decolonization of global health requires a shift towards more equitable and inclusive forms of knowledge production and dissemination.

    This involves challenging the historical legacies of colonialism and racism that have shaped the global health field, as well as the power imbalances that continue to privilege certain forms of knowledge over others (Büyüm et al., 2020).

    By fostering a dialogue between health workers and global partners, Teach to Reach can help to bridge the gap between research and practice, ensuring that the latest scientific findings are effectively translated into actionable strategies that are grounded in local realities and responsive to the needs of those most affected by climate change and infectious diseases.

    The value of experiential data from health workers in filling evidence gaps and informing effective response strategies cannot be understated.

    As the Klepac review highlights, there is a paucity of research on the impacts of climate change on many NTDs and the effectiveness of mitigation and adaptation strategies.

    While more rigorous scientific studies are undoubtedly needed, waiting years or decades for this evidence to accumulate before taking action is not a viable option given the urgency of the climate crisis and its devastating impacts on health.

    Health workers’ firsthand observations and experiences can provide valuable insights into the complex mechanisms through which climate change is affecting the distribution and transmission of malaria and NTDs, as well as the effectiveness of different intervention strategies in real-world settings.

    This type of contextual knowledge is essential for developing locally tailored solutions that account for the unique social, cultural, and environmental factors that shape disease dynamics in different communities.

    Furthermore, engaging health workers as active partners in research and decision-making processes can help to ensure that the solutions developed are not only scientifically sound but also feasible, acceptable, and sustainable in practice.

    The involvement of frontline health workers in the co-creation of knowledge and interventions can lead to more effective, equitable, and context-specific solutions that are responsive to the needs and priorities of local communities.

    References

    Abimbola, S., & Pai, M. (2020). Will global health survive its decolonisation? The Lancet, 396(10263), 1627-1628. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32417-X

    Bhakuni, H., & Abimbola, S. (2021). Epistemic injustice in academic global health. The Lancet Global Health, 9(10), e1465-e1470. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00301-6

    Büyüm, A. M., Kenney, C., Koris, A., Mkumba, L., & Raveendran, Y. (2020). Decolonising global health: If not now, when? BMJ Global Health, 5(8), e003394. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003394

    Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press.

    Klepac, P., et al., 2024. Climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trae026

  • Journée mondiale contre le paludisme: nous avons besoin de nouvelles façons de mener le changement

    Journée mondiale contre le paludisme: nous avons besoin de nouvelles façons de mener le changement

    English version | Version française

    Aujourd’hui, à l’occasion de la Journée mondiale contre le paludisme, la Fondation Apprendre Genève est fière de se tenir aux côtés des travailleurs de la santé en première ligne dans la lutte contre cette maladie.

    Le paludisme reste un problème de santé majeure, affectant de manière disproportionnée les communautés d’Afrique et d’Asie.

    C’est pourquoi la lutte contre le paludisme sera au cœur de Teach to Reach 10, un événement phare qui permet à des milliers de professionnels de santé du monde entier de partager leurs expériences, leurs réussites et leurs défis.

    Teach to Reach est une plateforme qui facilite l’apprentissage par les pairs afin de mener des actions locales sur des questions de santé urgentes.

    Lors de Teach to Reach 10 le 21 juin 2024, nous nous concentrerons sur la menace urgente que représente le changement climatique pour la santé, en mettant particulièrement l’accent sur la façon dont l’évolution des conditions environnementales modifie le paysage du risque de paludisme et de la riposte à ce fléau.

    Le leadership des professionnels de la santé est essentiel pour une vision intégrée de la lutte contre le paludisme par et pour les communautés locales

    Comme le montre notre récent rapport « De la communauté à la planète: Professionnels de la santé sur le front du climat», les agents de santé du niveau périphérique sont déjà les témoins directs de la manière dont les changements climatiques affectent les schémas pathologiques et pèsent sur les systèmes de santé.

    La hausse des températures, les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes et l’évolution des précipitations créent des conditions idéales pour la prolifération des moustiques vecteurs du paludisme, exposant ainsi les communautés à des risques accrus.

    Des acteurs comme Yapoulouce Bamba, de Guinée, ont observé cette tendance inquiétante : «La dégradation de l’environnement a créé davantage de lieux de reproduction pour les moustiques. Pendant la saison des pluies, on observe une augmentation exponentielle des populations de moustiques, ce qui accroît le nombre de cas de paludisme.»

    De la gouvernance internationale à l’action locale : comment Teach to Reach peut contribuer à transformer la déclaration de Yaoundé en action locale

    Lors de la conférence Teach to Reach 10, nous discuterons de la manière de transformer l’engagement des dirigeants africains dans la déclaration de Yaoundé en actions concrètes, menées localement pour accélérer la lutte contre le paludisme.

    En rassemblant les acteurs de la santé pour partager des solutions locales et renforcer la résilience, nous soutenons l’appel de la déclaration en faveur de l’investissement dans la recherche et l’innovation, de la collaboration transfrontalière et de l’engagement des communautés en tant que partenaires dans la lutte contre le paludisme.

    Teach to Reach incarne ainsi la vision de cette Déclaration, qui consiste à soutenir ceux qui sont en première ligne de la lutte contre le paludisme en leur apportant les connaissances, les outils et la solidarité dont ils ont besoin pour avoir un impact transformateur dans leurs communautés.

    Nous avons besoin d’inventer de nouvelles façons de mener le changement

    En cette Journée mondiale contre le paludisme, nous invitons tous ceux qui se sont engagés à mettre fin à cette maladie à se joindre à nous pour apprendre et écouter auprès des agents de santé de première ligne.

    Leurs voix, leurs expériences et leur leadership sont essentiels pour stimuler l’action locale et la collaboration internationale nécessaires pour vaincre cette menace persistante dans un climat changeant.

    Ensemble, nous pouvons trouver de nouvelles façons de mener le changement pour construire un avenir sans paludisme, pour tous.

    Image: Collection de la Fondation Apprendre Genève © 2024

  • World Malaria Day 2024: We need new ways to support health workers leading change with local communities

    World Malaria Day 2024: We need new ways to support health workers leading change with local communities

    English version | Version française

    Today, on World Malaria Day, the Geneva Learning Foundation is proud to stand with health workers on the frontlines of the fight against this deadly disease.

    Malaria remains a critical global health challenge, disproportionately affecting communities in Africa and Asia.

    That’s why we’re putting malaria at the heart of the agenda for Teach to Reach 10, our landmark event connecting tens of thousands of health workers worldwide to share their experiences, successes, and challenges.

    Teach to Reach is a unique platform that enables health workers to learn from each other, contribute to global knowledge, and drive local action on pressing health issues.

    At Teach to Reach 10 this June, we will be focusing on the urgent threat of climate change to health, with a special emphasis on how changing environmental conditions are altering the landscape of malaria risk and response.

    Read Gavi’s article about our work: Global problems, local solutions: the health workers helping communities brace for climate change

    World Malaria Day: Health worker leadership is critical to an integrated view of malaria response by and for local communities

    As our recent report “On the frontline of climate change and health: A health worker eyewitness report” highlighted, health workers are already witnessing firsthand how climate shifts are affecting disease patterns and burdening health systems.

    Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns are creating ideal conditions for malaria-carrying mosquitoes to thrive, putting communities at greater risk.

    Health workers like Yapoulouce Bamba from Guinea have observed this worrying trend: “The degradation of the environment has created more breeding grounds for mosquitoes. During the rainy season, there is a noticeable exponential increase in mosquito populations, which in turn raises the number of malaria cases.”

    World Malaria Day: From global governance to local action: how Teach to Reach can contribute to turning the Yaoundé Declaration into local action

    At Teach to Reach 10, we’ll be discussing how to turn the commitment of African leaders in the Yaoundé Declaration into locally-led action to accelerate action against malaria.

    By bringing together health workers to share local solutions and build resilience, we are supporting the Declaration’s call for investment in research and innovation, cross-border collaboration, and engagement of communities as partners in the malaria fight.

    Teach to Reach embodies the Declaration’s vision of supporting those at the forefront of the malaria fight with the knowledge, tools, and solidarity they need to drive transformative impact in their communities.

    We need new ways to learn and lead

    On this World Malaria Day, we invite all those committed to ending malaria to join us in listening to and learning from frontline health workers.

    Their voices, experiences, and leadership are key to driving the local action and global collaboration needed to overcome this persistent threat in a changing climate.

    New ways to learn and lead are vital so that we can build a healthier, malaria-free future for all.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

  • Four billion

    Four billion

    A few months ago, a malaria guy showed me the $20 dumb Nokia phones he buys in a Geneva convenience store and then gives out to trainees who then use it to collect data via SMS text messages. ARM says that the US$20 smart phone (read: Android with an ARM chip) will arrive this year. At stake: how to get the next four billion people online.

    The $20 dollar smart phone
    The $20 dollar smart phone

    Source: ARM says $20 smartphones coming this year, shows off 64-bit Cortex-A53 and A57 performance. Photo: Fr3d.org/Flickr