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Tackling Malaria Through a Champion Communities Approach in Zambia: Using Data to Change Behaviors and Improve Health Outcomes .

Poster | October 31, 2015

A graphic titled "Tackling Malaria Through a Champion Communities Approach in Zambia."

From 2011 to 2014, the USAID Zambia Communications Support for Health (CSH) program implemented the community-based STOP Malaria campaign in four provinces, eight districts, and 131 communities in Zambia. The initiative relied on the Champion Communities approach, a participatory behavior change methodology.

The goal of the USAID Zambia Communications Support for Health (CSH) program was to increase use of bed nets, appropriate malaria testing at the first sign of fever, regular antenatal care attendance, and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy. CSH project staff worked directly with selected community leaders to implement the Champion Communities approach, a participatory behavior change methodology. Each month, CSH staff visited communities to counsel households on best practices in malaria prevention and treatment. As part of each counseling session, staff used scorecards to collect data on the household’s practice of healthy malaria-related behaviors.

This poster was presented at the 2015 American Public Health Association Conference.