In 2005, Accordia Global Health Foundation launched the Joint Uganda Malaria Training Program (JUMP) in partnership with ExxonMobil’s Africa Health Initiative. This exemplary training program at the Infectious Disease Institute (IDI), executed in partnership with the Uganda Malaria Surveillance Project, builds capacity among African healthcare workers in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.  By the end of 2007, almost 300 healthcare workers had completed JUMP’s multidisciplinary team-based malaria training at IDI.

Malaria is a devastating disease causing death and illness worldwide.  It is a treatable disease that takes a child’s life every 30 seconds, and kills over one million people each year.  In sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over 90 percent of all malaria cases worldwide, the disease is particularly brutal on the young – children under 5 years old account for nearly 20 percent of all deaths across the continent.  The crisis has grown with the AIDS epidemic: HIV and malaria each appear to make the other worse, by accelerating the course of AIDS and by increasing the frequency and severity of malarial attacks. There are effective drugs to treat malaria if administered properly, but misuse and overuse can quickly lead to resistance. There is a critical need to expand healthcare capacity to optimally diagnose and treat malaria. 

JUMP takes an innovative approach to training healthcare professionals in improved malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment, by working directly with entire treatment teams at the health facility level and by building the skill sets of all clinic professionals, from medical officers to data entry clerks. JUMP then provides ongoing support and supervision to ensure the implementation of improved skills and practices, through its Mobile Support Teams, which also conduct additional training and collects data to evaluate JUMP’s impact on local health outcomes. The result for the clinic is a more effective staff and a more sustainable system of improved malaria care for its patients.

Accordia Global Health Foundation was established to innovate and implement programs that strengthen African healthcare professionals’ ability to effectively care for millions of infected individuals throughout sub-Saharan Africa.  Thanks to the generous contributions of corporations such as ExxonMobil, and the work of foundations and individuals, the crisis is being managed better than ever before. The Accordia Global Health Foundation along with our partners is determined to change the devastating course of treatable diseases like malaria, through initiatives like JUMP.  

For more information on JUMP and other Accordia programs please contact Kelly Willis, Director of Program Development.