OR Study
Spatial repellents have the potential of being critical tools in the prevention of mosquito borne diseases in contexts where typical vectors control efforts such as bed nets and indoor residual spraying are inaccessible or underutilized such as among displaced peoples or in emergency relief settings. Malaria endemic sites where ongoing humanitarian relief efforts are underway were selected to estimate the impact of spatial repellents on malaria related outcomes. The study will measure the direct effect of spatial repellents as well as the protective equivalency using varied distribution channels: paid study personnel, community health workers, and a voucher system.
Study Objectives:
- To evaluate the protective efficacy of spatial repellents against the first-time malaria infection in children aged > 6 months to 10 years;
- To evaluate the PE of SRs for malaria (both first-time and recurrent) in children aged > 6 months to 10 years;
- To compare the effectiveness of spatial repellents between product delivery mechanisms (Community Health Workers delivering products to subjects and subjects receiving a voucher to get the product at local health facility and applying at home themselves) versus the reference mechanism (study team personnel delivering product directly to subjects at their homes.)
Study Location and Population: As of June 30, 2017, there are nearly 1 million South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Bidibidi refugee settlement is currently the second largest refugee settlement in the world. About 40% of the population in Bidibidi is living in grass thatched roof houses with over 60% living in tarpaulin shelters, with the majority of those being women and children under 18. Study participants will include children ages 6 months to 10 years who report sleeping in selected study clusters.
In-Country Project Lead: Catholic Relief Services
Additionally, social science methodologies and health and market analyses will provide evidence for the acceptability and scalability of implementation. To ensure the spatial repellent is adopted as a complementary vector control tool, findings will be disseminated to the scientific community, end users, and project stakeholders.
This project is made possible thanks to Unitaid funding and support. Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, effectively, and for affordable prices, in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid’s work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid is now applying its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.