Review of the Use of Technology to Facilitate Insecticide-Treated Net Distribution for Vector Control in Complex Operating Environments
Within complex operating environments (COE), digital technologies provide strategic options for programme monitoring, resource allocation, and more equitable and efficient delivery of life-saving vector control to the most vulnerable populations.
Recognizing the importance of vector control in mitigating these challenges in COEs and humanitarian emergencies, the Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP), in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), established the Humanitarian and At-Risk Populations Working Group (HARP WG) to address the unique challenges of insecticide-treated net (ITN) distribution in displaced populations. The HARP WG mandate is to improve the operational delivery, access to, and use of ITNs and other vector control products for internally displaced persons and refugees.
A new series of case studies developed by CRS through the HARP WG with national malaria programmes and partners in Burundi, Chad, Mali, Pakistan and Somalia, confirms that digitalization is feasible, essential and highly effective in strengthening ITN distribution in COEs, provided implementation is context-specific and locally owned. Five new case studies have been developed to provide in-depth overviews of national malaria programme-led exploration, design, implementation, and continuous improvement for digitalization.