Paper short abstract:

This paper intends to show the rationale of a grassroots approach liable to reduce health inequalities related to malaria in rural areas and envision to see how and up to what extent such innovative medical action without professionals can be extended to African countries.

Paper long abstract:

Malaria is still prevailing in most Southeast Asian Regions, even if morbidity and mortality rates are much less than in Africa. In order to reduce health access inequalities and spatial discrepancies where no health structures are to be found, some countries like Cambodia (followed by Lao PDR and the Philippines) have initiated singular interventions in far-off areas. Some community health providers (called Village Malaria Workers: VMW) have been trained for providing malaria free diagnosis and treatment. The person is a local volunteer, the material used is a rapid diagnostic test and the medication consists in an artemisinin combination therapy. Such triple standardization, reinforced by a geographical homogenization process, aims to reduce health inequalities. Everyone has access to this 'home service', especially children, pregnant ladies and young mothers who are particularly biologically and socially vulnerable to the infection. Such a national policy which gave birth to the existence of a few thousands of volunteers scattered in the remaining malaria endemic areas relies on the improvement of the provision of treatment where there is no doctor. Additionally, this grassroots facility enables people to have a prompt access, in case they prefer not to rely on public health services. The oral presentation will analyze up to what extent the adoption of this strategy is variably incorporated in people's health perception and practices. Further discussions after the presentation are expected to foresee up to what extent some African countries could take a similar code of conduct into consideration in malaria remote areas.