Malaria places enormous economic and health burdens on African nations, costing Africa $12 billion a year directly, according to one estimate. It is the leading cause of death for children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Infection during pregnancy, particularly among new mothers, increases the risk of maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, and low birth weight. In 2010, Africa accounted for 81 percent of the 216 million people infected and 91 percent of the 655,000 people who died.
Abt Associates helps governments, ministries of health, and the private sector roll back malaria and move toward elimination. Our technical assistance helps governments and other partners implement multi-faceted interventions, make informed policy choices, and access additional resources to fight malaria.
For example, in Uganda, Abt provides support for indoor residual spraying (IRS) activities that reached more than 800,000 households and protected more than 2.5 million people from malaria in 2011. In Ethiopia, Abt is expanding access to malaria services by supporting training of private sector providers. Abt is implementing the
Africa Indoor Residual Spraying (AIRS) project, USAID’s flagship IRS program, in more than 15 countries.
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Abt builds local capacity to implement programs, develop and implement policies, and mobilize resources. We also contribute to global efforts, with Abt staff members actively participating in the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Our work includes helping countries:
- Implement, monitor, and evaluate IRS programs;
- Conduct integrated vector management;
- Improve diagnosis and treatment (case management) of malaria in the public and private sectors;
- Protect pregnant women from malaria by providing them with intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) during antenatal care;
- Develop and implement social and behavior change interventions to support use of insecticide-treated nets, promote antenatal care and IPT, encourage prompt treatment, and support indoor residual spraying campaigns;
- Develop and implement malaria-related policies, guidelines, and programs;
- Analyze costs and financing requirements for sustainable malaria control and prevention strategies, including tracking donor, public, and private expenditures on malaria; and
- Assess the impact of improved malaria control on the health system.