Establishing African genomics and bioinformatics programs through annual regional workshops.

The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics aims to overcome barriers to capacity building through its distributed African regional workshops and prioritizes the exchange of grassroots knowledge and innovation in biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics. In 2023, we implemented 28 workshops on biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics, covering 11 African countries across the 5 African geographical regions. These regional workshops trained 408 African scientists in hands-on molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics techniques as well as the ethical, legal and social issues associated with acquiring genetic resources. Here, we discuss the implementation of transformative strategies, such as expanding the regional workshop model of AfricaBP to involve multiple countries, institutions and partners, including the proposed creation of an African digital database with sequence information relating to both biodiversity and agriculture. This will ultimately help create a critical mass of skilled genomics and bioinformatics scientists across Africa.

How well are malaria maps used to design and finance malaria control in Africa?

INTRODUCTION: Rational decision making on malaria control depends on an understanding of the epidemiological risks and control measures. National Malaria Control Programmes across Africa have access to a range of state-of-the-art malaria risk mapping products that might serve their decision-making needs. The use of cartography in planning malaria control has never been methodically reviewed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An audit of the risk maps used by NMCPs in 47 malaria endemic countries in Africa was undertaken by examining the most recent national malaria strategies, monitoring and evaluation plans, malaria programme reviews and applications submitted to the Global Fund. The types of maps presented and how they have been used to define priorities for investment and control was investigated. RESULTS: 91% of endemic countries in Africa have defined malaria risk at sub-national levels using at least one risk map. The range of risk maps varies from maps based on suitability of climate for transmission; predicted malaria seasons and temperature/altitude limitations, to representations of clinical data and modelled parasite prevalence. The choice of maps is influenced by the source of the information. Maps developed using national data through in-country research partnerships have greater utility than more readily accessible web-based options developed without inputs from national control programmes. Although almost all countries have stratification maps, only a few use them to guide decisions on the selection of interventions allocation of resources for malaria control. CONCLUSION: The way information on the epidemiology of malaria is presented and used needs to be addressed to ensure evidence-based added value in planning control. The science on modelled impact of interventions must be integrated into new mapping products to allow a translation of risk into rational decision making for malaria control. As overseas and domestic funding diminishes, strategic planning will be necessary to guide appropriate financing for malaria control.

Web-based climate information resources for malaria control in Africa.

Malaria remains a major public health threat to more than 600 million Africans and its control is recognized as critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The greatest burden of malaria in Africa occurs in the endemic regions where the disease pathogen is continuously present in the community. These regions are characterized by an environment that is conducive to interactions between the Anopheles mosquito, malaria parasites and human hosts, as well as housing of generally poor quality, which offers little protection from mosquito-human contact. Epidemic malaria tends to occur along the geographical margins of endemic regions, when the equilibrium between the human, parasite and mosquito vector populations is occasionally disturbed and a sharp but temporary increase in disease incidence results. When malaria control measures are inadequate, as is the case in much of sub-Saharan Africa, the disease distribution is closely linked with seasonal patterns of the climate and local environment. In the absence of good epidemiological data on malaria distribution in Africa, climate information has long been used to develop malaria risk maps that illustrate the boundaries of 'climatic suitability for endemic transmission.' The best known of these are produced by the Pan-African-based MARA Collaboration. This paper describes the development of additional malaria suitability maps which have been produced in an online, interactive format to enable temporal information (i.e., seasonality of climate conditions) to be queried and displayed along with spatial information. These maps and the seasonal information that they contain should be useful to the malaria control and health service communities for their planning and operational activities.

Using climate information for improved health in Africa: relevance, constraints and opportunities.

Good health status is one of the primary aspirations of human social development and, as a consequence, health indicators are key components of the human development indices by which we measure progress toward sustainable development. Certain diseases and ill health are associated with particular environmental and climate conditions. The timeframe of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) demands that the risks to health associated with current climate variability are more fully understood and acted upon to improve the focus of resources in climate sensitive disease control, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where good epidemiological surveillance data are lacking. In the absence of high-quality epidemiological data on malaria distribution in Africa, climate information has long been used to develop malaria risk maps illustrating the climatic suitability boundaries for endemic transmission. However, experience to date has shown that it is difficult in terms of availability, timing and cost to obtain meteorological observations from national meteorological services in Africa. National health services generally find the costs of purchasing these data prohibitive given their competing demands for resources across the spectrum of health service requirements. Some national health services have tried to overcome this access problem by using proxies derived from satellites, which tend to be available freely, in 'near-real-time' and therefore offer much promise for monitoring applications. This paper discusses the issues related to climate and health, reviews the current use of climate information for malaria endemic and epidemic surveillance, and presents examples of operational use of climate information for malaria control in Africa based on Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing.

Malaria in Kenya's western highlands.

Records from tea estates in the Kericho district in Kenya show that malaria reemerged in the 1980s. Renewed epidemic activity coincided with the emergence of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria and may have been triggered by the failure of antimalarial drugs. Meteorologic changes, population movements, degradation of health services, and changes in Anopheles vector populations are possible contributing factors. The highland malaria epidemics of the 1940s were stopped largely by sporontocidal drugs, and combination chemotherapy has recently limited transmission. Antimalarial drugs can limit the pool of gametocytes available to infect mosquitoes during the brief transmission season.