Bukasakya-Bungokho Malaria Control Project

Project Activities and Outcomes:

Activity 1 – Stakeholder training on malaria prevention, control, and treatment best practices. Volunteers were identified by Local Council leaders and the VHT Chairman by March 29, 2025, and training of Village Health Teams (VHTs) and community groups took place on May 21–22, 2025 at Bunapongo Health Centre III.

Two training sessions were held, reaching 40 VHTs (versus 10 originally budgeted) due to high demand across parishes, plus 3 LC II leaders, 2 LC I leaders, the HUMC Chairman, and 5 health workers from the district and health centre (versus 2 planned) — 50 people trained in total against a target of 17. Two Rotarians from RC Mbale City witnessed the training. Outcomes included VHTs gaining practical household malaria education skills, health workers updated on diagnosis/treatment practices, 5 stakeholders pledging ongoing support, and the health centre drafting an action plan for best practices.

Activity 2 – Community engagement and sensitization. This included radio talk shows, radio announcements via mobilization trucks, and outreach/mobilization meetings. Two radio talk shows aired on Elgon FM and Open Gate FM (Mbale) on March 28, 2025, in English and the local language, delivered by 3 Rotarians and 2 District Health Officials, promoting the upcoming medical camp. Three radio announcements were disseminated via mobilization trucks across Bumageni, Bubirabi, Lwabogo, and Khamoto parishes. Outreach/mobilization meetings ran May 26–June 1, 2025 across the same parishes. Additional materials included 7 e-fliers on social media, a publicity banner, 500 printed fliers in the local language, and 2 newspaper articles (New Vision, Nilepost). Outcomes: strong turnout at the medical camp the next day (March 29), continued patient flow to the health centre, all four outreach objectives met, and intake questionnaires tracking how patients learned of the project.

Activity 3 – Stakeholder engagement via community coordination meetings. Five coordination meetings were held across the five parishes (Bumageni, Khamoto, Bubirabi, Lwabogo). Over 150 people attended; short surveys found 60% learned of the project via mobilization trucks, 20% via fliers, and 15% via radio, with the rest via word of mouth.

Activity 4 – Testing and treatment in the community. Malaria intervention packages (repellents, mosquito nets, MRDT kits, drugs) were distributed at community meetings, targeting 7,000 tests and 7,000 nets, plus a six-month follow-up sample to assess net use and prevalence. All 7,000 MRDT kits and drugs were procured and handed to Bunapongo HC III’s Facility In-charge at the project launch (March 29, 2025). By November 30, 2025, 11,484 tests had been conducted (4,484 above target, aided by additional government supplies), with 4,207 positive cases receiving 100% treatment per Ministry of Health guidelines. This reflects a prevalence decline from 51% (March 2025) to 36.6% (November 2025). A random follow-up sample was conducted in November 2025 using DHIS2 data.

Activity 5 – Adopting malaria prevention initiatives. Planned activities were planting neem trees and community clean-ups (originally October 2024/March 2025 follow-up). Tree planting was deferred to the rainy season around mid-March 2026 per the exit meeting. Clean-up exercises were carried out in at least 3 parishes to promote sanitation and hygiene, with the LC5 giving tokens to the best model households, and community engagement completed in all 5 parishes.

Activity 6 – Project evaluation and monitoring. Monthly monitoring was conducted by RC Mbale City Rotarians, Local Council leaders, and VHT chairpersons, who reported to the Bunapongo In-charge; the In-charge compiled activity reports (medical camp, trainings, malaria statistics, community outreach). RC Lubowa, as host club, tracked all milestones and produced the final monitoring and evaluation report.

Activity 7 – Diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up on project impact. This covered distributing mosquito nets, continuous diagnosis/treatment at HC III, procuring logistics (bicycles, solar lamps) for VHTs, and a medical camp on held March 29 for pregnant women and the wider community. Mosquito nets (provided by the Ministry of Health) were distributed in January 2026. Continuous testing/treatment has run since the March 2025 launch.
Logistical items were procured by RC Lubowa and handed to beneficiaries. The medical camp launch on March 29, 2025 at Bukasakya Primary School football grounds drew Rotarians from RC Lubowa, RC Mbale City, RC Mbale, Rotaract Lubowa, Local Council leaders, VHTs, Malaria Partners Uganda representatives, and community members. Outcomes: nets distributed across all 5 parishes; cumulatively 11,484 tests with 100% of positive cases treated or referred; community responsiveness reflected in attendance, discovery of other prevalent diseases during camp testing, and a documented shift from superstition/herbal remedies toward formal medical care.

Activity 8 – Project closure and lessons learned. An evaluation and exit meeting was held online, producing action plans for sustaining the work and completed reports for Malaria Partners International (MPI). The meeting brought together Rotarians and Bunapongo staff, documented lessons learned, created a forward-looking action plan, and finalized the evaluation report to MPI. Stakeholder presentations surfaced challenges faced, newly identified disease needs, and lessons that will inform future action planning.