Ghana End of Spray Report, Spray Campaign: April 2-May 9, 2019

The report was approved on September 10, 2019. The document does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. The 2019 Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) campaign in Ghana aimed to control malaria transmission by targeting high-risk areas. The campaign was conducted in 15 districts, including the newly expanded Chereponi District. The IRS activities were implemented in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other stakeholders. Pre-spray activities included insecticide selection, microplanning, expansion of IRS into Chereponi District, logistical needs assessment, procurement, training, recruitment, and number of people hired. A total of 2,500 personnel were hired for the campaign, including spray operators, supervisors, and support staff. The implementation of IRS activities involved spray campaign, IRS supervision, directly observed spraying, logistics and stock management, mHealth phone-based supervision, mHealth job aid messaging, nozzle calibration, and head lamp pilot. The campaign targeted over 1.2 million people in 15 districts, with a total of 1.3 million houses sprayed. Entomology data collected during the campaign showed a significant reduction in malaria vector density. Monitoring and evaluation activities included data collection and management, data entry and cleaning, results analysis, availability and use of mosquito nets, and other spray indicators. The results showed a significant increase in the use of mosquito nets among the target population. Environmental compliance activities included pre-season environmental compliance assessment and renovations, use of mobile soak pits, mid-season environmental compliance assessments, daily SOP health checks, incidents, post-season environmental compliance assessment, and waste disposal. The campaign implemented various measures to minimize environmental impact, including the use of mobile soak pits and daily health checks. Social and behavior change activities included integrating IRS into routine GHS health promotion activities, improving quality of community participation, community education, mass media campaign, mobilization, and SBC activities monitoring. The campaign implemented various strategies to promote community engagement and participation in IRS activities. Capacity building activities included training of personnel, recruitment, and number of people hired. The campaign also implemented various measures to improve the capacity of personnel, including training on IRS procedures and equipment operation. Post-spray activities included post-spray stakeholders meetings, IRS demobilization, post-spray inventory, and challenges and recommendations. The campaign faced various challenges, including logistical issues, equipment malfunctions, and community resistance. Recommendations were made to improve the effectiveness of future IRS campaigns, including the need for better planning, coordination, and community engagement.