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Table 2 Barriers to malaria control during the COVID-19 pandemic

From: Barriers against and strategies for malaria control during the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Dimensions

Barriers on supply side

Barriers on demand side

Geographic accessibility

Travel restrictionsa: A3, A4, A5, A13, A20, A28

Lack of transportationb: A9, A19, A22

Travel restrictionsa: A1, A3, A4, A8, A10, A11, A12, A13, A16, A19, A24, A28

Lack of transportationb: A9, A10, A25

Affordability

Increased costs for malaria control: A25, A27

Limited fiscal space/funding: A13, A25

Economic damage from COVID-19: A4, A9, A24

Availability

Procurement or supply chain issue: A6, A8, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15, A17, A19, A22, A24, A25, A27

Delayed or suspended ongoing malaria control intervention due to COVID-19 quarantine measures: A8, A9, A11, A13, A17, A20, A22, A24, A26, A28

The shift of resource or healthcare workforce from malaria to COVID-19: A2, A5, A6, A11, A16, A20, A25

Staff absences with sick, death, quarantine, or strikes related to COVID-19: A17, A18, A20, A22, A25

Insufficient personal protective equipment for health workers: A2, A9, A22, A25

Disrupted case management: A6, A8, A15

Clinical manifestations overlap between Malaria and COVID-19: A14, A22, A29

Postponement of recruitment or training of workforce: A13

Closure of health facilitiesc: A24

Poor program promotion, awareness, and marketing strategies: A13

Misled health advice disrupting timely management: A1, A11, A13, A25

Lack of information or knowledge on Malaria and/or COVID-19: A6, A9, A10

Closure of health facilitiesc: A12, A16

Acceptability

Fear of COVID-19 infectiond: A9, A12, A18, A20, A23, A25

Lack of community’s engagement in malaria campaign: A13, A23

Lack of political will/support in malaria control: A13

Fear of violence targeting health workers (assumable due to COVID-19 stigmatization): A22

Difficulties in adhering to COVID-19 hygiene measures: A23

Fear of COVID-19 infectiond: A1, A5, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11, A15, A16, A18, A21, A23, A25, A28

COVID-19 stigma: A10

  1. aTravel restrictions: On the supply side, travel restrictions made health workers unable to provide malaria services. On the demand side, it disrupted access to malaria services
  2. bLack of transportation: On the supply side, lack of transportation made health workers absent from work. On the demand side, it limited access to uptake services
  3. cClosure of health facilities: On the supply side, closure of health facilities affected normal operation of health service. On the demand side, it limited people to use health services
  4. dFear of COVID-19 infection: On the supply side, fear made health workers being passive in delivering malaria service. On the demand side, it made people less active in seeking health service
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Malaria Journal

ISSN: 1475-2875

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