The malaria control program targets several neighborhoods in Mimika, which are home to many PTFI employees. The program also serves the communities that were relocated by PTFI during the construction phase of the local mine.
In 2008, PTFI and LPMAK expanded malaria control activities into the remote rural areas of the Mimika Regency, particularly the lowland areas that do not receive adequate malaria prevention services. In addition to increasing access to the new locations, PHMC also incorporated a combination of program initiatives. With the support of Yayasan Caritas of Timika (YCT), Yayasan Citra Insan Indonesia (YCII) and other implementing partners, PHMC expanded its program activities to include malaria education, indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting net distribution, blood sampling analysis (RDT and Microscopic), medicine posts, malaria medicine research (ACT), capacity building for local community health centers, an integrated data and information systems amongst health providers, and using strong monitoring and evaluation methods to improve the performance of the program.
PHMC also encourages strong community and government participation. By involving the Timkeskam (Village Health Team) in program activities, community members are trained and empowered to execute the activities for malaria management independently.
PHMC supports RSMM and RSWB (Waa Banti) public hospitals and clinics in malaria diagnosis and treatment. On average, RSMM provides services and medication to around 20,000 patients annually, both outpatient services as well as hospitalization for serious malaria patients with complications. In addition, the program has trained microscopic malaria analysts at the hospitals and conducted research on appropriate malaria drugs for the area.
A survey conducted by LPMAK in 2010 that randomly tested students in schools in the intervention areas showed a decline in malaria prevalence (6 percentage points or 50%) in the area following the implementation of the program.
