Malaria Country Context 

While recognized internationally for its ambitious goal of malaria elimination, and for having attained pre-elimination levels in its Southern Province, Zambia as a whole remains a highly endemic malaria country—with the entire population at risk for contracting malaria. The risk is highest in the wetter, rural, impoverished provinces of Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, and North Western, and lowest in Lusaka Province. At the district level, malaria incidence varies widely, from less than 50 cases to over 500 cases per 1,000 people. The malaria parasite species Plasmodium falciparum causes the majority of infections. 

Malaria continues to be a serious public health problem in Zambia, particularly among children under the age of five. In 2018, the national health information system reported 5.5 million confirmed malaria cases. During this same time, the country reported 1,425 deaths due to malaria, compared to a World Health Organization (WHO) estimate of 7,600 malaria deaths.

This is PMI Impact Malaria’s geographic coverage in Zambia: 

PMI Impact Malaria has supported Zambia's NMCP in achieving these key accomplishments:

• Implemented a new approach of supportive supervision at the facility level with standard automated checklists, called OTSS+, that focuses on continuous improvement of the competencies of health providers in case management, MIP, and diagnostics. So far, 318 district facilities have benefitted from OTSS+ in IM’s two focus provinces. These efforts have helped to ensure that 95% of health workers in these facilities demonstrate competence in using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs). 

• Trained laboratory health workers in three districts to become proficient in generating slides for malaria microscopy. These health workers have generated a total of over 4,000 slides for the national malaria slide bank. 

• Conducted on-the-job coaching for more than 1,200 health workers to ensure adherence to malaria case management best practices.

Click here for a printable version of this page.

Photo Credit: Laura Newman/PMI, Zambia

Sources: PMI’s Zambia Country Brief, PMI’s Zambia Malaria Operational Plan FY 2020, 2019 World Malaria Report Zambia Country Profile, PMI Impact Malaria Zambia, and Zambia’s NMCP