PMI VectorWorks project

The Issue

Malaria is a preventable, curable disease that caused 435,000 deaths among an estimated 219 million cases worldwide in 2017 (WHO, 2019). Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) can reduce or eliminate malaria transmission with sufficiently high coverage. PMI VectorWorks was a five-year $60 million global project aiming to scale up vector control for malaria prevention through improved distribution of ITNs, optimal roll out of promising alternative vector control tools, and global policies that are informed by monitoring and evaluation data. Bringing together seven institutions, working in 16 malaria-endemic countries, the project, led by the John Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, developed and implemented better ways to distribute ITNs, conducted research to inform evidence-based decision making, and worked to refine policy at the global and country levels, improving vector control, preventing malaria, and changing lives.

Tropical Health was the lead monitoring and evaluation partner on PMI VectorWorks, responsible for designing and implementing ITN durability monitoring, evaluating ITN distribution approaches, and compiling a comprehensive toolkit for continuous ITN distribution. VectorWorks’ Project Director now serves as the Technical Director of Tropical Health.

Our Approach

Tropical Health generated operational research concept notes, designed programmatic evaluations of school and community ITN distributions, developed the PMI standard protocol and toolkit for ITN durability monitoring, and turned evidence into published papers and then into global ITN policy. Working hand in hand with project partners, PMI, and national programmes, Tropical Health converted research questions into practical solutions to the challenge of maintaining high levels of ITN access and use.

Our Findings

VectorWorks assisted with the delivery of over 47 million ITNs in nine countries, published 33 peer-reviewed articles on ITN access and use, trained over 100,000 people on various aspects of ITN distribution, piloted and expanded school distribution of ITNs, informed PMI, Global Fund, and WHO policy on universal coverage, and produced comprehensive toolkits on continuous distribution and durability monitoring.