Liberia Ministry of Health trains county teams to strengthen malaria surveillance in Ganta
The plan targets a reduction of at least 50 percent in malaria related deaths and a 40 percent reduction in malaria case incidence by 2030, compared with 2022 levels.
LIBERIA—The Ministry of Health has launched a 10-day training programme to strengthen malaria surveillance and improve the use of data in planning and delivering malaria services across the country.
The training, running from September 16 to 26 in Ganta, Nimba County, is being conducted by the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP).
It brings together County Health Officers, Malaria Focal Persons, Monitoring and Evaluation Officers and Data Managers from County Health Teams.
The programme is equipping health workers with practical skills to collect, analyze, interpret and use malaria data.
These skills are intended to help health teams identify gaps in services, track programme performance and make timely decisions based on evidence.
The training comes as Liberia implements its National Malaria Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030.
The plan targets a reduction of at least 50 percent in malaria-related deaths and a 40 percent reduction in malaria case incidence by 2030, compared with 2022 levels.
It also aims to move Greater Monrovia towards pre-elimination and reduce malaria transmission by at least 75 percent in selected counties with moderate to high malaria burdens.
Preparing health teams to use data
To support these targets, the Ministry is placing greater emphasis on the quality and use of malaria surveillance data.
Health workers are being trained to move beyond collecting and reporting information and instead use it to identify service delivery gaps and guide interventions.
The current training follows a six-day Training of Trainers (TOT) programme held in Kakata, Margibi County.
The earlier programme brought together thematic leads from the NMCP and staff from the Ministry of Health’s Health Management and Evaluation Research and Technology (HMERT) Division.
A data expert from REACH Malaria facilitated the TOT, with support from the NMCP’s SME Unit and the Ministry of Health’s HMERT Division.
The programme strengthened participants’ skills in malaria surveillance, monitoring and evaluation and prepared them to train County Health Teams.
Support for malaria data systems
REACH Malaria, with support from the United States Government, is providing technical assistance to strengthen Liberia’s malaria data systems.
The support includes capacity building and assistance in improving the use of health information.
Through the partnership, malaria programme personnel and County Health Teams are receiving support to monitor disease trends, identify gaps in services and track areas where transmission remains persistent.
The Ministry expects the training to strengthen malaria surveillance and monitoring at county and health facility levels.
It will also support the use of timely and reliable data when planning and delivering malaria interventions across Liberia.
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