Enhancing Malaria Prevention in Cameroon Through Community Participation: An in-Depth Review

Abstract

Abstract:Despite 66 percent reduction in mortality between 2000 and 2015, malaria remains a major global public health problem, affecting mostly Sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon remains endemic to malaria, with about 41 percent suffering at least one episode of malaria, annual overall mortality of 30 to 35 percent and 67 percent childhood mortality. Cameroon government's subsidy on artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for uncomplicated malaria, intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp), free distribution of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) to pregnant women and under-fives have been more of a top-down approach, with the affected communities mainly at the receiving end. Challenges of failed adherence to test results, drug and insecticide resistance, substandard and self-medication, low ITN ownership and utilisation have been identified, especially in the rural areas. This study reviews malaria prevention in Cameroon and proposes community based context-specific complementary interventions strategies that will promote community participation in prevention and mitigate the effects of poverty towards achievement of the sustainable development goals targets for malaria. The study involved an in-depth review of secondary data from electronic and non-electronic documents. Electronic search was done in Global Health, PubMed, governmental and non-governmental organisation websites, journals and google scholar. Non-electronic documents from the University of Leeds and World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva libraries were also used. A conceptual framework on integrated community-based approach on intervention to prevent neglected tropical diseases and infectious diseases of poverty was adapted and used, while different intervention strategies were analysed. A total of 96 publications were eligible for inclusion. Analysis of the factors influencing malaria prevention in Cameroon, reveals that current measures alone are insufficient. Therefore, a combination of multiple delivery strategies using an integrated community-based approach is likely to be more effective in breaking the transmission cycle than single programme interventions. Concurrent implementation of community mobilisation through social groups and Village Development Committees, education on house screening, training of mothers and caregivers and health promotion through environmental management were recommended as the best and most feasible strategies to complement current interventions in Cameroon.

Knowledge, attitude and practices of malaria preventive measures among mothers with children under five years in a rural setting of Ghana

“…With education, the results revealed that all individuals with at least primary level of education correctly attributed the cause of malaria to a mosquito. This was in line with a study conducted in Douala, Cameroon [ 28 ], which found that the level of education was associated with the correct knowledge on the causative agent of malaria. It is, therefore, not surprising of the findings as governmental interventions to increase access to education in Ghana could have an additional effect of improving the overall health outcomes of the under-five population regarding malaria prevention in future.…”

Genomic analysis of Plasmodium falciparum isolates across different altitudinal zones along the slope of Mount Cameroon

“…The global burden and economic impact of the disease are disproportionately high in sub-Saharan Africa, primarily among children under the age of 5 years (WHO, 2021), with an estimated direct cost of at least US$12 billion each year, with costs affecting both individuals and governments (CDC, 2021). In Cameroon, deaths caused by malaria constitute 30%-35% of the overall fatality and 67% of the yearly pediatric mortality figures (Mbako, 2017).…”