In 2006, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH initiated the design and start-up of the MACEPA Learning Community—a forum for leading-edge malaria control programs to showcase their existing strengths, share lessons, and build on each other’s experiences. The goal was to develop excellence in all areas and expand effective programming.

Through a dynamic model of shared learning and technical support, the MACEPA Learning Community will work with countries to accelerate scale-up of their national malaria control programs. Zambia, the founding learning community country, has been joined by Ethiopia, and MACEPA is exploring partnership with additional countries. Together these countries are demonstrating a flexible model for accelerated, nationally led malaria prevention and control efforts aimed to rapidly impact health and economic indicators.

The MACEPA Learning Community brings countries together to learn from each other and works with them to incorporate new tools, methods, and knowledge into their malaria control programs. The MACEPA Learning Community convenes multicountry workshops on critical program elements, including malaria indicator surveys, funding proposals, and the use of geographic information systems for indoor residual spraying programs. Participants in these workshops learn from the experience of their peers in other countries and receive training on state-of-the-art methods and tools. Afterward, the learning community works with participating countries to plan, budget for, and implement their own activities. This combination of facilitated, multicountry learning paired with ongoing in-country assistance is what makes the learning community unique.

Learn more:

• Read the MACEPA Learning Community fact sheet.
• Visit the MACEPA Learning Community website.

Photo: David Jacobs.