Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among forcibly displaced populations, including refugees, approximately two-thirds of whom reside in malaria endemic regions. Data from the rapid disease notification system (RDNS) reports for Manicaland Province in Zimbabwe showed that despite implementation of malaria control initiatives, there was an increase in number of malaria cases above action thresholds at Tongogara refugee camp in Chipinge district during weeks 12–14 of 2021. An investigation that described the outbreak by person, place and time was conducted. Malaria emergency preparedness, response, and appropriateness of case management were assessed. The factors associated with contracting malaria were determined to enable the formulation of appropriate interventions, establish control, and prevent future malaria outbreaks among this vulnerable population.
A 1:1 unmatched case–control study involving 80 cases and 80 controls was conducted using interviewer-administered questionnaires at household level. Data was entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and quantitative analysis was done using Epi Info™ version 7.2.2.6 to generate medians, proportions, odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals.
