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Comic Relief and GSK
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Theory of change

Investing in the right places, in the right way, for greater impact.

From the start, our approach has been led by the countries where we work

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We set out to complement and enhance existing national strategies to tackle malaria, providing funding where it was needed most.

When we spoke to governments across Africa and the Greater Mekong, we learned that more interventions were needed to prevent, diagnose, and treat malaria and other febrile illnesses.

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To help achieve this, we developed a theory of change, comprised of four key pillars, to guide our investments

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Pillar 1

Increasing the supply of good quality primary health care

We supported local health workers by providing the resources and training they needed to increase their capacity. This resulted in improved diagnosis and treatment of malaria and other killer diseases, and ultimately, better access to care across the public and private sectors.

  • Over 13,000 health workers given skills and resources to prevent, diagnose and treat febrile illness

  • Hundreds of thousands gained access to better health care

Find out about pillar 1

Pillar 2

Creating demand for and access to primary health care

We helped improve access to information and supported health education so that communities could better protect themselves from malaria. We supported communities to better understand the importance of seeking treatment quickly, sleeping under a net and their right to quality care.

  • Half a million children with an improved chance of survival

  • Over 1.4 million people taught about malaria prevention

  • More than 330,000 pregnant women reached

Find out about pillar 2

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Pillar 3

Strengthening surveillance and information systems

We helped to improve the quality of data collection and analysis which enabled health services to better allocate resources to the right people in the right place at the right time. We supported organisations to track, treat and prevent the further spread of malaria and other deadly diseases. The importance of this was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Over 2,200 health service providers collecting better data

  • Over 1,000 health providers using data to strengthen systems

Find out about pillar 3

Pillar 4

Improving awareness of malaria

We supported grassroots movements, community journalists, youth advocates and business leaders to step up their efforts in the fight against malaria. We stood with communities impacted by malaria and provided the tools for them to tell their story in their own way, using our platform to amplify their voices to new audiences.

  • Supporting the Zero Malaria Starts With Me movement

  • Supporting youth activists across Africa

  • Amplifying the evidence generated by our funded partners

  • Raising awareness in the UK

Find out about pillar 4

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The Partnership Map

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Comic Relief is the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England and Wales (326568) and Scotland (SC039730), which is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (01806414). Registered address: 1st Floor, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TP.