Narrative Review of Community Participation in Malaria Control

Mugisha Emmanuel K.

Faculty of Science and Technology Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT

Malaria remains one of the leading global health challenges, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where it contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality rates. Despite progress in prevention and treatment, achieving sustained malaria elimination requires effective community participation. This narrative review explores the multifaceted dimensions of community involvement in malaria control, highlighting barriers, innovative practices, and future directions. Socio-cultural beliefs, economic hardships, and political interference often hinder participation by shaping perceptions of the disease, constraining resources, and distorting priorities. Nonetheless, community-driven approaches rooted in cultural understanding, equitable resource distribution, and local ownership have demonstrated measurable success in malaria prevention and treatment. The study underscores the importance of integrating monitoring, evaluation, and feedback mechanisms to assess program performance, improve strategy design, and ensure accountability. Emerging innovative strategies, including the use of traditional songs, open-space methodologies, and mobile technology, have enhanced communication, awareness, and data-driven decision-making at the grassroots level. By fostering community leadership, leveraging local structures, and adopting participatory models such as bottom-up and collaborative approaches, malaria control programs can achieve greater sustainability. This review concludes that community engagement, reinforced by innovation, technology, and cross-sectoral collaboration, is indispensable to reducing malaria transmission and achieving global health equity.

Keywords: Community participation, Malaria control, Socio-economic barriers, Innovation and technology, Monitoring and evaluation.

CITE AS: Mugisha Emmanuel K. (2025). Narrative Review of Community Participation in Malaria Control. RESEARCH INVENTION JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES 5(3):160-169. https://doi.org/10.59298/RIJSES/2025/531160169