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Malaria is one of the diseases with the highest morbi-mortality rate worldwide, including Colombia, where it is endemic in several regions of the country. Although the incidence of this disease in the Department of Meta and the Atlantic Coast is not as high as in Nariño, the number of reported cases has held steady over time. It is still an event of great interest in public health. The struggle against malaria is part of one of the Millennium Development Goals and has generated global and national programs that have been implemented at a national and global level, whose main goal is to control and eradicate malaria. These programs have stood out for their vertical nature and for the low level of community participation. Health sector needs to include, at a micro-level, the voices of the community represented in their discourses and actions in the face of the disease, its prevention, and treatment. Therefore, a community and institutional look at these elements, in relation to the disease and the vector, should be provided, which will allow the vector and disease control programs to be improved, designing strategies to bring community and government agencies together to propose public health policies and programs.

Background: Malaria is endemic in Colombia and still a major problem in public health. This study aims to describe the community knowledge, attitudes and practices related to malaria and its vector Anopheles sp. In Vistahermosa (Meta). Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using a KAP form for adult residents who provided informed consent. The sample was calculated with 95% confidence level, 5% error rate and expected frequency of 10%. Sociodemographic information, knowledge, attitudes and practices about the disease and the vector, and perception of Health Department actions were recorded. Descriptive statistics for the collected data were recorded, and 95% confidence intervals were included. Results: In total, 120 surveys were conducted. A total of 40% of the respondents had had malaria, and 88.33% considered the disease a problem. A total of 13.33% did not complete treatment. A total of 50.83% of the respondents reported that each person was responsible for prevention, 25% reported that prevention was the responsibility of the Health Department, and 5% reported that prevention was the responsibility of the community. There was low participation and community appropriation (2.5%), and 12.50% of the respondents did nothing to prevent mosquito bites. There was confusion between the vector of malaria (Anopheles) and Aedes aegypti. There is still a lack of knowledge of the transmission mechanisms of malaria. Conclusion: Health is not the sole responsibility of health agencies but is a point of convergence between communities and government entities, which should design effective prevention and control programs.