Community case management of malaria and childhood illnesses
Evidence for antimalarial policy and access
Community case management of malaria has been shown to reduce childhood mortality. Trained, community-based volunteers distribute prepackaged malaria treatments close to home in areas where doctors are not available or there is not good access to this medication. The strategy was originally called home management, but has been renamed to avoid the impression that medications are stored and used in homes without supervision.
In recent years, other diseases that cause fever, like pneumonia and diarrhea, have been added through a broader approach called integrated community case management (iCCM). This is because fever can no longer be assumed in most African countries to be caused only by malaria. This strategy helps providers (whether at the community level or hospital) diagnose these killer diseases with a malaria diagnostic test, and if that is negative, to test for pneumonia with a respiratory rate test. Then the appropriate treatment – either antimalarials or antibiotics for pneumonia or oral rehydration salts plus Zinc for diarrhea – can be provided.
TDR has supported research to assess the effectiveness of this strategy with the new artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) for many years and continues to fund projects in this area.
