Transforming malaria surveillance

All countries can accelerate reduction in malaria cases and deaths through the data contained in routine health information systems (RHIS). That’s the thesis of work MEASURE Evaluation is conducting in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, alongside the countries’ National Malaria Control Programs (NMCP) to foster country ownership and local leadership.

RHIS is an important tool to monitor progress toward universal access to malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for men, women, and children, and to accelerate efforts toward elimination, says malaria expert Yazoumé Yé. Even if data quality needs improvement, he says, that work can be done alongside using RHIS for surveillance. RHIS can collect the number of presumed malaria cases, the number of confirmed cases, and the number of deaths due to malaria. That information—if properly analyzed and used—will go a long way to understanding the disease trend within the population, designing appropriate responses to the need, targeting of programs, and development of appropriate policies toward disease control and eventual elimination.

In observance of World Malaria Day, MEASURE Evaluation offers this visualization of what RHIS can accomplish for malaria surveillance.

For more information on MEASURE Evaluation’s work on malaria, visit: https://www.measureevaluation.org/our-work/malaria.