Dear CHIFA and HIFA-Zambia colleagues,
A new paper in the WHO Bulletin finds that 'rectal artesunate administered by community health volunteers can be an effective intervention for severe malaria among young children'.
CITATION: Rectal artesunate for severe malaria, implementation research, Zambia
Cathy Green et al.
WHO Bulletin 2023
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10225942/
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine whether the positive results of a single-district pilot project focused on rectal artesunate administration at the community level in Zambia could be replicated on a larger scale.
Methods: In partnership with government, in 10 rural districts during 2018–2021 we: (i) trained community health volunteers to administer rectal artesunate to children with suspected severe malaria and refer them to a health facility; (ii) supported communities to establish emergency transport, food banks and emergency savings to reduce referral delays; (iii) ensured adequate drug supplies; (iv) trained health workers to treat severe malaria with injectable artesunate; and (v) monitored severe malaria cases and associated deaths via surveys, health facility data and a community monitoring system.
Results: Intervention communities accessed quality-assured rectal artesunate from trained community health volunteers, and follow-on treatment for severe malaria from health workers. Based on formal data from the health management information system, reported deaths from severe malaria reduced significantly from 3.1% (22/699; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.0–4.2) to 0.5% (2/365; 95% CI: 0.0–1.1) in two demonstration districts, and from 6.2% (14/225; 95% CI: 3.6–8.8) to 0.6% (2/321; 95% CI: 0.0–1.3) in eight scale-up districts.
Conclusion: Despite the effects of the coronavirus disease, our results confirmed that pre-referral rectal artesunate administered by community health volunteers can be an effective intervention for severe malaria among young children. Our results strengthen the case for wider expansion of the pre-referral treatment in Zambia and elsewhere when combined with supporting interventions.
Join CHIFA (child health and rights): http://www.hifa.org/joinchifa
Join HIFA-Zambia: http://www.hifa.org/join/join-hifa-zambia
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
