Liberia National Malaria Control

Overview O Liberia’s National Malaria Control Program is one of many Malaria Control Programs set up in various malaria endemic countries across Africa. O It was setup following the establishment of the Rollback Malaria Program. The program receives funding mainly from the Global Fund to setup and implement interventions to reduce the malaria infection across Liberia

Aim of Internship Program O To learn more about public health policy formulation and implementation in developing countries. O To learn more about innovative techniques adopted to solve public health problems. O To gain a feel of a public health job, and to form acquaintances for future collaborative work.

Projects/ Work O 1. In collaboration with Clinton Health Access Initiative, Montserrado County Health Pharmacist’s Office, and Derek Willis, Princeton alumni and currently of Columbia Earth Institute, worked on creating a digital map of all health facilities in Montserrado County of Liberia.

Map showing health facilities on Tubman Boulevard in Monrovia

O 1. Worked with Mosquito net distribution and spraying team to help monitor spraying of rooms in Bong County of Liberia. O Sat in at key stakeholder meetings of the agencies of the Ministry of Health. O Attended malaria training workshop for nurses.

Outcome O Learned a lot about how public health policy decisions are made and implemented taking into consideration the culture and socio-economic backgrounds of the target people. O Successfully help created a digital map that will be used for future research by researchers at the Columbia Earth Institute, and monitoring work by Mentor Initiative, Clinton Health Access Foundation and County Health Pharmacist’s Office in Liberia. O Learned a lot about the importance of networking and collaboration when working on a project.

Future O Amazing experience! O Solidified my interest in pursuing a Global Health and Health Policy Certificate. O Provided me a strong foundation for future global health research. O Formed acquaintances for future collaborative work in Global Health.

UNICEF Proposal - Child Survival O Working with multiple offices in the department of health (HIV/AIDS, Expanded Program on Immunization, Nutrition, etc) O Building capacity in the different counties, typically through training, supervision, and monitoring and evaluation O Piggybacking different programs on each other to increase efficiency and maximize utilization of resources

Community case management O Pilot project in three counties by four implementing partners O Management of cases of malaria in the communities, integrated with existing community treatment of pneumonia and diarrhea

IEC – Newsletters O Production of deliverables: newletters detailing various initiatives and programs run by the NMCP O Malaria in Pregnancy, LLINs, IRS

M & E LLINS O Discrepancies in the data – all nets given out, but not all nets used O Plans for more IEC/BCC O Plans for more pre- and post- supervision/data collection

Meetings – 2 Year Operational Plans O All the different departments presented their 2-year operational plans to one another, at the national level. O Training, Supervision, Procurement O All the different counties presented 2- year operational plans in a 3 day conference O Address specific issues like resource management/optimization O Coordination between national and county MoH

Meetings – Private Sector ACT O ACT is the main malaria drug available in Liberia. It is available in public health facilities for free O Various private sector implementing partners met to discuss distribution, supply chain management, storage, security, and the selection of local distributors

Outcomes O Several deliverables: newsletters, funding proposals, budgets, reports, powerpoint presentations, and policy documents O Gained an understanding of the interaction between federal and county health teams, and their different responsibilities O Networking with various partners, such as CDC, PMI, Clinton Foundation, and the Tony Blair Initiative

Future O Considering a Masters of Public Health O Considering working in local level rather than federal government, to have a greater implementing role O Considering field work in whatever career I eventually pursue