C-Change Ethiopia Final Report

The program was funded by USAID, PMI, and PEPFAR, and was implemented by FHI 360, CARE International, and Internews. The program's primary objective was to empower Ethiopian families to take malaria prevention and antenatal care/maternal and child health/prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (ANC/MNCH/PMTCT) actions that have helped improve health status. The program's work involved the use of mass media, interpersonal communication, community engagement, and participatory training to promote the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and other malaria prevention and control measures. The program also aimed to increase community awareness about the effectiveness of IRS and facilitate reduced re-plastering, improve treatment-seeking behavior for malaria, and increase community knowledge regarding malaria diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control. In addition to its malaria prevention and control activities, the program also focused on increasing the uptake of PMTCT services by boosting ANC visits and enrolling women in PMTCT services in Amhara and Oromia. The program worked with local NGOs to increase their capacity and involvement in malaria prevention and control, and also provided support to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) by bringing a mix of skills, experience, and creativity to the design and implementation of high-impact communication strategies. The program's interventions included the use of mass media, interpersonal communication, community engagement, and participatory training to promote the use of LLINs, IRS, and other malaria prevention and control measures. The program also developed numerous easy-to-use, frontline teaching tools and short skills-based trainings that could be managed by woreda and kebele level teams and which were also used by other implementers working on related interventions. The program's impact was significant, with increased demand for LLINs, increased LLIN ownership and correct and consistent use, especially among the most vulnerable groups (pregnant women and children under five). The program also improved treatment-seeking behavior for malaria, increased community knowledge regarding malaria diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control, and increased the uptake of PMTCT services by boosting ANC visits and enrolling women in PMTCT services in Amhara and Oromia. The program's success was due in part to its ability to strengthen the capacity of regional, woreda, and kebele structures to create affordable and sustainable interventions that resonate with key audiences to achieve USAID's objectives. The program's work also contributed to the establishment and sustenance of a culture for long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), including increased demand for LLINs, increased LLIN ownership and correct and consistent use, especially among the most vulnerable groups (pregnant women and children under five).