Proyecto Malaria Colombia (PMC), a joint health initiative administered by Colombia’s state agency for development, FONADE, and the Fundación Universidad de Antioquia, has won the top 2013 “Malaria Champions of the Americas” award. The award is presented annually to organizations demonstrating best practices in malaria prevention and control. PMC cited the significance of Fionet, a cloud-based solution for infectious disease management from Fio Corp, Toronto, Canada, to its outreach process.

Fionet played a valuable role in our success story,” said Andrés Oyola, project manager for PMC-FONADE. “The service was not only aligned with the overall strategy to bring innovation into our program, but also proved to be integral to helping PMC meet its objectives of improving the diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of malaria cases.”

In 2010, Colombia reported more than 115,000 malaria cases, with more than 70% originating in 45 municipalities. PMC was founded that year to complement the Colombian Ministry of Health’s prevention activities. By 2012, PMC’s efforts led to a drop of nearly 50% in reported cases.

PMC trained local healthcare workers in malaria prevention and control. Fio supplied mobile phones loaded with Deki software to manage patient flow and document microscopy-based testing, along with Deki Readers, in vitro diagnostic devices to process and interpret tests. Fionet’s cloud database captured the data and allowed it to be transferred to SIVIGILA, Colombia’s national epidemiologic surveillance system. The real-time tools enabled workers to test and track positive cases.

“Fionet’s mobile devices served a dual role as helpful diagnostic tools and reliable surveillance units,” Oyola said. “This has strengthened PMC’s capabilities to remotely manage health-worker activity and make better informed resource allocation decisions.”

The Pan American Health Organization, the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, the Center for Global Health at George Washington University, and other partners present the Malaria Champions of the Americas awards each year to honor significant, innovative efforts in the Americas toward overcoming malaria.

For more information, visit Proyecto Malario Colombia and Fio Corp.