Abstract
WHAT IS ACTWATCH?
ACTwatch is a multi-country research project implemented by Population Services International (PSI). Standardized tools and approaches are employed to provide comparable data across countries and over time. ACTwatch is designed to provide timely, relevant, and high-quality antimalarial market intelligence, including information on artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT), the most effective treatment for malaria. The project was launched in 2008 with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and was funded through 2016 by the BMGF, UNITAID, and the Department for International Development (DFID). Research methods implemented include outlet and household surveys, supply chain studies, key informant interviews, and modules to document private-sector fever case management practices using observation and client exit interviews.
GOAL
The goal of the ACTwatch project is to provide policymakers with evidence to inform and monitor national and global policy, strategy, and funding decisions for improving malaria case management and elimination efforts.
RELEVANCE
ACTwatch data provide timely and practical evidence for national malaria programs and their partners. The project monitors antimalarial markets in the context of policy shifts and investments in the scale-up of first-line ACT and blood testing using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT). This has included adaptation of project methods for the evaluation of the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) pilot.
OUTLET SURVEYS
Outlet surveys are the core component of ACTwatch. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), outlet surveys have been implemented in Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (in Kinshasa and Katanga), Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. In the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS), project countries include Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Myanmar, and Thailand. This report presents trend data across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa from surveys implemented between 2009 and 2015. Additional data collection occurred in 2016 in Benin, Kenya, and Tanzania.