The project implemented by the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar focuses on malaria, maternal and child health, and the control of infectious diseases.

From 2019 to 2024, the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar is implementing the RISE (Research, Innovation, Monitoring and Evaluation) project, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI).

Through the implementation of operational research, training and surveillance activities, the project aims to support the actions carried out by the Ministry of Public Health of Madagascar on 3 major themes of public health, namely:

1. malaria;
2. maternal and child health;
3. control of infectious diseases.

Guiding public health decisions

RISE builds on the experience of the previous project, Survey and Data Management, also funded by USAID, and promotes a model of collaboration among health actors based on sharing knowledge, operational research findings and survey data. The goal is to guide public health decisions to strengthen prevention and response actions to address the health priorities of Madagascar's populations.

Several activities have already begun within the framework of the RISE project:

• study on the feasibility and effectiveness of extending community-based case management of malaria to all ages in Farafangana ;
• evaluation of the bio-effectiveness of insecticide-treated mosquito nets;
• support for biological sentinel surveillance and epidemic response.

Protocols and training

A number of research protocols are also being developed, among others:

• evaluation of the efficiency of antimalarial therapies used in Madagascar;
• surveillance of influenza virus (flu virus) and respiratory syncytial virus in 2 paediatric hospitals;
• evaluation of the perception of the quality of healthcare by obstetric healthcare users: prenatal consultations, delivery and post-natal care (including post-partum haemorrhage).

The Institut Pasteur de Madagascar will also organize 7 trainings during the first year of the RISE project. The first is a training course on the "Knowledge Transfer" approach, with the aim of optimizing the translation of research results into public health actions, which took place at the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar from 20^th to 24^th January 2020.

List of the main partners:

• MSH/ACCESS ;
• CIRAD ;
• Epiconcept ;
• Fondation Mérieux ;
• Institut Pasteur ;
• IRD ;
• JSI/MAHEFA MIARAKA 
• PSI ;
• université d’Antananarivo ;
• université de Bordeaux ;
• université de Montréal ;
• University College London ;
• PMI VectorLink/Abt.

To find out more, please follow us on Twitter @pasteurMG or write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This post has first been published by the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar. It has been translated in English by Afriscitech.