cameroon
Country Context
Endemic throughout the country, malaria is a major public health threat in Cameroon. The 2021 World Malaria Report shows a gradual increase in the number of malaria cases reported, from 1.6 million to 2.8 million cases, as well as an increase in the number of deaths recorded, from 3,340 in 2016 to 4,121, between 2016 and in 2020. This underscores the need for more targeted malaria prevention interventions. The Cameroon NMCP conducted a stratification exercise in 2019 and 2020 to better target and tailor malaria activities for the highest impact. Based on the epidemiological landscape, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is only implemented in the Far North and North regions for children 3-59 months. For the eight other regions in the central and southern part of Cameroon, the NMCP wanted a complementary chemoprevention intervention for the under-five population.
IPTI+* MODEL
Although Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi) – now called PMC – was already included in Cameroon’s National Malaria Strategy Plan, in September 2021, the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) reviewed and validated the 5-contact PMC strategy and guide, which was officially launched in April 2022 by the Minister of Public Health. To complement the NMCP’s 5-contact PMC strategy, through the Plus Project co-design process, the NMCP, EPI, and other stakeholders selected an 8-contact model to be implemented in 6 districts in the Centre Region.
The chosen PMC model will primarily be delivered through health facilities. In areas more than five kilometers from a health facility, the ‘Stratégie Avancée’, in which health staff travel to communities to provide certain health services at community level, will be leveraged to increase access. In addition, community health workers will be critical to sensitize and mobilize caregivers to bring their infants and young children for PMC services. Community Health Workers are also able to administer the chosen PMC model starting from the 6-month contact to infants who have missed their appointment at the health facility.
*The Cameroon Ministry of Health has integrated IPTi into their national plan, and therefore the Plus Project Cameroon is maintaining the previous nomenclature of IPTi+ for consistency with our national partners.