SDI has been engaged by Management Sciences for Health (MSH) to implement the US President’s Malaria Initiative for States (PM I- S) project for Private Health Facilities in Nasarawa and Plateau States. The project supports the Government of Nigeria through its agencies at the federal, state, and local government areas (LGA) and community levels to reduce under-five and maternal mortality by delivering quality services for the prevention and management of malaria and its complications.

The objectives of the PMI-S Task Order 04 (TO 04) are to:

• Improve the quality of and access to comprehensive malaria case management services, including improved accuracy of malaria testing through a functional diagnostic quality assurance system
• Improve data quality, interpretation, and use
• Improve drug-based prevention and treatment approaches (mainly intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy);
• Strengthen existing health systems and improve State Malaria Elimination Program (SMEP) management.

Goal: The project also aims at contributing to strengthening the delivery and reporting of Malaria Case Management through the provision of supportive mentoring in the targeted Private Health Facilities in Nasarawa and Plateau states.

Using mentoring as the key capacity building approaches, the Grantee will:

1. Create a framework for supervision and site management within the targeted health facilities in Nasarawa and Plateau states
2. Conduct capacity-building activities to improve malaria case management delivery and reporting in targeted health facilities in Nasarawa and Plateau states 
3. Implement monthly site management activities targeting to improve the quality of malaria case management delivery and reporting in Nasarawa and Plateau states
4. Provide linkages and arrangements that incentivize the targeted health facilities towards improvement in malaria case management delivery and reporting.
5. Advocate with relevant regulatory and collaborating organizations to support improved malaria case management delivery and reporting in Nasarawa and Plateau states
6. Document and develop high-quality knowledge management and communication products for dissemination

As a grantee SDI is working to:

1. Develop a capacity-building plan with clear timelines as well as a post-training supervision and mentoring plan detailing implementation approaches and modalities as well as performance indicators.
2. Develop or adapt national competency-based assessment tools: pre-and post-test questionnaires, and checklists for knowledge and skill assessment.
3. Support periodic data review meetings with LGAs and state levels.
4. Mentor private health sector providers to provide quality malaria services in line with the relevant national malaria guidelines.
5. Build capacity of private health care workers to provide pre-referrals or treatment for complicated malaria and ensure feedback of outcomes of the referral.
6. Build capacity of private health sector stakeholders on data quality and management, including internal triangulation of service and logistics data, data validation, data quality assessments in the focus state.
7. Build the capacity of the SMOH relevant department/SMEP Officer(s) on integrated supportive supervision, review, regular visit and follow up of action from the visit.
8. Link non reporting private health sector health facilities to be reporting on the DHIS2
9. Support clinical mentoring for Private Hospitals in the focus state to provide quality malaria services including management of severe malaria, parasite-based diagnosis (RDT and microscopy), and utilization and documentation of IPTp services.
10. Link high volume private health sector facilities to sources of quality assured malaria commodities.
11. Strengthen malaria case management/ service delivery including planning, monitoring and supervision, in-process and end-process evaluations and reporting in the focus states.
12. Develop high quality visually appealing learning and external communication products not limited to project briefs, highlights, posters, abstracts, synopsis, reports, success stories, photo stories, video-documentary of results for key stakeholders and high impact peer review journals
13. The grantee is responsible for setting up, paying for and delivering logistics and funding for all the capacity building activities of its staff and stakeholders. 
14. Provide all training logistics (venues, supplies, equipment, transportation, refreshments) for the training (if applicable) in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
15. Provide all mentoring technical support and logistics (transportation, supervisory and mentoring checklist, materials, and reports) to execute mentoring following the initial training (if applicable) roll-out.