Access and Adequate Utilization of Malaria Control Interventions among Women of Childbearing Age in Badbaado IDP Refugee Camp, Mogadishu, Somalia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Somalia has a high burden of malaria and between 2000 and 2019, an estimated 759,000 cases and 1,942 deaths from malaria have occurred. Although there is limited national data and statistics on the burden of malaria in Somalia, it is considered a major public health problem in the country. AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to explore the results of a rapid assessment of the extent of current access and adequate utilization of malaria control interventions among women of childbearing age from 15 to 49 years in Bad-bado Refugee Camp, Dharkenley District, Mogadishu, Somalia. METHOD: This study applied a non-probability purposive sampling strategy for recruiting study participants. A total of 150 women aged 15 to 49 years old were selected, and semi-structured questionnaires were the main data collection methods. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23 and used a P-value of 95% to assess associations between variables with ≤0.05 regarded as a statistically significant. RESULTS: The incidence of malaria among respondents was 59 cases (39.3%), of which 39 (66.1%) were mothers followed by 17 cases (28.8%) of children under the age of five years. The vast majority of 51 (63.0%) of the respondents who seek treatment confirmed that the distance from the health facility to their residence is about three kilometers or further. The majority of 39 (66.1%) of the respondents who were infected with malaria did not take the malaria medicine, while non-availability and/or non-affordability of the prescribed medicines in the clinics was the reason for not taking the medicine. Most of the respondents, 140 out of 150 of the study participants (93.3%), confirmed that they did not get any malarial services in their internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements. Almost all of the respondents’ household members 147 (98%) did not own insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), reasoning that due to the lack of distribution of ITNs and the unaffordability of their costs. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The study revealed a high incidence of malaria cases. However, this study recommends the government and other stakeholders should provide funding to establish camp clinics and increase mobile teams to provide adequate and accessible public health services to combat malaria in these vulnerable populations.