Mid-term performance evaluation of the Cambodia malaria elimination project : final report

The Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC) goals are eliminating Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and mixed infections (Pf + P. vivax) and zeroing death by 2020, and eliminating malaria infections by 2025. CMEP is aligned with the national malaria strategies, Malaria Elimination Action Framework (MEAF) Phase 1. The evaluation aimed to determine CMEP’s results, identify lessons learned and best practices, and make recommendations for future USAID malaria programs. The evaluation team (ET) conducted a desk review of materials, interviews with key stakeholders, focus group discussions with direct beneficiaries, and a survey with OD and health facility service providers and at-risk populations. The ET found CMEP’s interventions and activities have: 1) impacted malaria transmission after implementation of the 1-3-7 elimination model in Sampov Loun OD, significantly reducing falciparum malaria cases; 2) strengthened national capacities to assess, plan, train, supervise, and monitor programs; 3) provided Social and Behavior Change Communication interventions at the OD level linking affected communities to improved malaria (and health wellness) services; and 4) reduced stock outs and built capacity to address malaria commodity disruptions. Recommendations include: supporting increased access to malaria programming support for key and vulnerable populations; expanding quality improvement of malaria programs; increasing emphasis on additional approaches for eliminating vivax malaria; and improving outcome and impact indicator reporting in the current malaria elimination scenario.