From Training & Research to Best Practice: The Malaria Partnership for Excellence

描述（由申请人提供）：2006年，马拉维被列入首批受益于总统疟疾倡议（PMI）的七个撒哈拉以南国家之一，该倡议旨在到2010年将15个国家的疟疾死亡率降低50%。美国将与马拉维政府合作，以现有的国家疟疾控制计划、政策和资源为基础，迅速扩大经证实的疟疾预防和治疗干预措施。然而，在实施、监测和评估新的干预措施方面，当地的专门知识范围有限。需要的领域包括生物统计专门知识、赠款管理专门知识、昆虫学专门知识、在实地进行多学科评价和业务的能力，以及监测药物和杀虫剂有效性的技术能力。因此，这项规划赠款的目标是制定一个培训计划，以帮助满足国家疟疾控制规划和合作伙伴实施的PMI活动的监测和评估需求和要求。培训计划的具体目标包括：(1)发展与马拉维PMI一起监测和评估活动所需的能力；(2)通过培训行政和会计人员提高马拉维大学医学院的外部赠款管理能力；(3)确定与马拉维PMI活动相关的研究项目。规划补助金将支持需求评估和研讨会，以确定当前的专业知识、培训需求和潜在的研究领域。需求评估将通过关键信息提供者访谈和焦点小组与那些在数据管理、昆虫学、药理学、临床流行病学、寄生虫学和社会科学等内容领域从事PMI活动的人员进行。将由一名高级拨款管理人就拨款的管理进行具体的需要评估。将在一个咨询委员会的监督下编制结果，并在一个讲习班上进行讨论。然后，讲习班参与者将根据需求评估的结果概述培训方案。培训计划的完整提案将是这个项目的主要成果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In 2006, Malawi was included among the first seven named sub-Saharan countries to benefit from the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), an initiative seeking to reduce malaria mortality by 50% in 15 countries by 2010. The United States will work in partnership with the Malawi government to build on existing national malaria control plans, policies and resources to rapidly scale up proven malaria prevention and treatment interventions. However, there is a limited range of local expertise to implement, monitor and evaluate the new interventions. Areas of need include biostatistical expertise, grants management expertise, entomological expertise, capacity to conduct multi-disciplinary evaluations and operations in the field, and technical capabilities to monitor drug and insecticide effectiveness. Therefore, the goal of this planning grant is to develop a training program to help meet the monitoring and evaluation needs and requirements of the PMI activities to be implemented by the National Malaria Control Program and partners. Specific objectives of the training program include (1) development of the capacity required to monitor and evaluate activities with the PMI in Malawi, (2) improvement in the external grants management capacity in the University of Malawi College of Medicine by training administrative and accounting staff, and (3) identification of research projects relevant to PMI activities in Malawi. The planning grant would support a needs assessment and workshop to identify current expertise, training needs, and potential research areas. A needs assessment will be conducted using key informant interviews and focus groups with those working on PMI activities in content areas of data management, entomology, pharmacology, clinical epidemiology, parasitology, and social science. A specific needs assessment will be conducted regarding grants administration by a senior grants administrator. Results will be prepared, with oversight from an advisory committee, and discussed at a workshop. Workshop participants will then outline a training program responsive to the findings from the needs assessment. A full proposal for the training program will be the primary outcome from this project.