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ikaracentreihrdc
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Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) Evaluation Study
What is IMCI?
The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness is a major WHO and UNICEF
initative to address major child health problems in the developing world. Each
year more than 10 million children in low-and middle-income countries die before
they reach their fifth birthday. Seven in ten of these deaths are due to just
five preventable and treatable conditions: malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea,
measles, and malnutrition, and often to a combination of these conditions. IMCI
seeks to address these problems through three components - improved
case-management, improved health systems support and improved family and
community practices.
Multi-Country Evaluation of IMCI
The Multi-Country Evaluation of IMCI (IMCI-MCE) seeks to generate information on
effectiveness, cost and impact of IMCI at the same time as strengthening the
implementation of the IMCI strategy. Currently studies are ongoing in
Bangladesh, Uganda, Tanzania and Peru. The IMCI-MCE is arranged, coordinated and
funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and co-ordinated by the
Department of Child and Adolescent Health of the World Health Organization.
The Tanzania study
In Tanzania, the IMCI-MCE study uses an observational design comparing child
health and survival in four neighbouring districts, two of which started IMCI in
1998 and two of which are starting implementation in 2002. The research entails
before-and-after household surveys, a health facility survey and continuous
demographic surveillance. The study is based on a strong partnership between the
Tanzania Essential Health Interventions Project (TEHIP) of the Ministry of
Health, WHO Tanzania office, the Adult Morbidity and Mortality Project (AMMP) of
the Ministry of Health, and Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre.
Information generated is being used to optimise IMCI implementation in all four
of the study districts and increasingly to help to improve IMCI implementation
in the rest of the country.
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