World Malaria Day 2018 and participation in the National Panchayati Raj Diwas
We celebrated the World Malaria Day 2018 with this year’s theme by the World Health Organization (WHO) - ‘Ready to beat malaria’. This theme underscores the collective energy and commitment of the global malaria community in uniting around the common goal of a world free of malaria. Keeping the global and national commitments in mind, the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) suggested the organization of IEC/BCC campaigns on this malaria year’s day. MEDP celebrated this day by organizing its unique Information, Education and Communication/Behavior Change Communication (IEC/BCC) campaign at the National Panchayati Raj Day 2018 inaugurated by the Honorable Prime Minister of India – Sh. Narendra Modi in Mandla on April 24, 2018. Thousands of people interacted with our team and learned about malaria. Eight such booths with the field staff team were placed all over the Panchayati Raj festival. The project was also featured in the ‘success stories’ of the district during this festival. MEDP has developed its original IEC/BCC material including the artwork and has claimed no copyrights on the same. We encourage the stakeholders and partners to use this material extensively for the benefit of the community. Additionally, on April 25, 2018, MEDP launched the pilot phase of its mobile application surveillance tool – Solution for Community Health workers (SOCH) developed with Sun IT Mumbai and Swaas Systems Chennai. The application will enable us to digitize all paper-based reporting systems, GPS tracking, attendance management, stock and inventory management along with recording and generation of accurate surveillance data.