Malaria Control Before and During the COVID-19’s Pandemic in Lawang Kidul, South Sumatera

Abstract

Global cases of malaria have increased with the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the morbidity and mortality of malaria in the world. Malaria cases in Indonesia decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as malaria cases in the regions. Lawang Kidul District is a malaria-endemic area and is the focus of a malaria elimination area in Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatra Province. All malaria control activities have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to find out how to control malaria in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted using a qualitative method with in-depth interview techniques from 11 health and non-health sector informants. Data processing analysis was carried out using the NVivo 12 Pro application with visualization of the results in the form of a project map. The results showed that malaria control efforts during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic were reduced along with the reduced cross-sectoral involvement, this was due to the increasing development of COVID-19 cases. However, the new form of control during the COVID-19 pandemic is the formation of larva cadres in one elementary school, the formation of village regulations, and increased efforts to clean and healthy living behavior.