Chad

For 2023, SMC implementation in Chad commenced in July and ended in October. The same will be done in 2024. Four to five cycles of SMC were carried out across 77 districts in 2023. This will be expanded to 82 districts in 2024. The campaign coverage was 95.87%.

The implementation of SMC in Chad is supported by The Global Fund, Malaria Consortium, UNICEF, and Médicins sans Frontières. Several community health workers were trained in the administration of SMC.

Key areas of concern the NMP said it encounters include coverage of nomads, administration of the second and third doses of amodiaquine, coverage of all eligible districts, and electronic payments.

The NMCP introduced digital tools for the collection of SMC data in 2023. Training of health and community workers took place before the introduction. Tablets were given to those carrying out the exercise.

There were wide differences in the coverage results across districts. This is because, in rural areas, health workers found it difficult to use the digital tools. Moreover, in areas where SMC had not been previously implemented together with other interventions, this was a challenge. However, when digitization was introduced, it became easier to combine interventions. 

The workload of workers at the district level continues to be a challenge. Perhaps this can be addressed by increasing the salary of workers. What is more, sufficient, and adequate digital tools are not available to carry out all the functions required. The NMP also intends to provide additional training to health workers especially on the use of digital tools.