Botswana Mobile Device Surveillance

The Botswana mobile phone surveillance pilot uses cellular phone networks to successfully track and monitor malaria cases in remote villages. This cutting-edge pilot project has the potential to overcome the challenges that undermine effective case management in rural communities.

Supported by Malaria No More and the Clinton Foundation, the mobile phone surveillance pilot in Botswana is based on a successful program employed in Zanzibar that used cellular phone networks for fast and effective malaria case monitoring. Cell phone-based reporting has the potential to overcome the challenges that undermine effective case load management and reporting in remote health facilities.

The Botswana Mobile Device Surveillance pilot program is currently limited to 20 health facilities in Botswana’s Okavango district and will greatly strengthen the measurement of malaria cases, evaluation of caseloads, monitoring of treatment, and the pinpointing of outbreaks following scale-up of net coverage.  In addition, with this intervention, it should be possible to link patients diagnosed with malaria to specific GPS- mapped households, using coordinates from LLIN distributions. This will enable the preparation of the first ever geographic map of recorded malaria transmission sites in the country. Together, these monitoring and evaluation activities will significantly increase Botswana’s ability to target and treat remaining cases, and advance the country toward its goal of elimination.