Pioneer Project

The Pioneer Project was designed to empower families to prevent and respond to malaria by simultaneously ensuring that the best available tools are accessible to the people who need them the most and by increasing their understanding of the importance and effectiveness of these tools, i.e., making sure that families want to access the best tools.

The project therefore undertook behaviour change communication (BCC) activities in conjunction with all interventions. According to the Pioneer Project, "these communications activities highlight to people what they are currently doing that could be improved, what the ideal behaviour in response to a particular scenario would be and the impact that that change in behaviour could have on their life."

Working in cooperation with Malaria Consortium's Integrated Community Case Management Project, the Pioneer Project developed a strategy to create and reinforce ideal behaviours pertaining to malaria, as well as pneumonia and diarrhoea. Pioneer's BCC activities included radio spots and in-depth radio discussion shows, interactive community discussions, the dissemination of leaflets, drama performances, and the dissemination of audio-visual tools. The project put a particular emphasis on communications at the community level, as it believed this to be key to systemic and long-lasting change.

Advocacy and the dissemination of learning were also key communication components of the project. According to Pioneer: "One of the aims of the project is to gain a deeper understanding of the best approaches towards achieving reduced malaria morbidity and mortality. To that end, comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plans were implemented to measure impact and capture lessons learned."

The project also engaged with local and international civil society and parliamentarians to shape policy and practice at national and international levels. The two processes worked hand in hand, as the learning was disseminated at local, national, regional, and international levels, with the aim of ensuring that the lessons learned and the operational research findings were effectively translated into improved policy and practice.

Resources such as reports, stories, news, and films can be found on the Pioneer Project website.

Malaria

In the west of Uganda, malaria accounts for approximately 23% of mortality in children under the age of five. This high rate of malaria is linked to the intrinsically high to moderate transmission (entomological inoculation rates (EIRs) ranging from 100-1,000), as well as to key health system challenges and lack of resource investment. Whilst some parts of the country have achieved both improved levels of access to health care and coverage of prevention measures, both of these in Western Uganda remain low, with less than 35% of households living within 10km of a health facility and only approximately 10% of households owning a LLIN.