MCD Global Health is committed to preventing malaria transmission with innovative and comprehensive strategies. We accomplish this by protecting people and managing mosquito populations.
Managing Mosquito Populations
Integrated Vector Control
Every year during the dry season, we train dozens of Equatoguineans to carry out our indoor spraying efforts, reaching upwards of 80% of homes on Bioko Island to help reduce malaria transmission.
Our work has decreased the number of people with malaria and new malaria cases. Through a combination of strategies, we limit mosquitoes at the source, provide bed nets and routine community indoor spraying, and work with children, families, institutions, and communities to build awareness and response capacity.
We provide technical assistance to national malaria control programs to implement and evaluate mosquito control interventions, as well as contribute to global guidance.
Larval Source Management
Larviciding, an insecticide used to kill mosquito larvae before they grow into adults, has historical success in controlling mosquito populations, especially in urban settings where breeding sites are more accessible.
In Equatorial Guinea, MCD introduced the use of ArcGIS Collector to capture data in the field, which helps teams plan, manage, and monitor larval-source management activity. These data can access whether community-based larvicide is effective at reducing transmission.
For example, in fall of 2021, we mapped 668 unique mosquito-breeding sites on Bioko Island. By finding and mapping them, characterizing their features, gathering samples to identify, and counting the larvae by species and developmental state, we can treat them and follow up.
Protecting People and Communities
Behavior Change Communication
By designing and implementing behavior change communication (BCC) policies, strategies, and interventions, our teams are able to support malaria case management and prevention goals within malaria control projects.
Preventing Malaria in Pregnancy
We assist countries and communities in improving how they provide care to women who are pregnant. By strengthening intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) efforts as part of antenatal and prenatal care services, the number of women who are pregnant and have taken at least three doses of malaria preventive therapy by the time they deliver increases.
In countries like Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, MCD has orchestrated the delivery of supplies for malaria in pregnancy prevention, such as sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine tablets and bed nets. We have worked with health care providers by assisting them with updated IPTp guidelines, so they can provide evidence-based care to women.
Our teams have integrated malaria and antenatal services, such as surveying household-level malaria interventions during routine antenatal visits. By surveying women who are pregnant on key malaria prevention indicators during their first antenatal and prenatal care visit, it increases the likelihood that they will use bed nets and decreases the number of positive cases among children under 5.
