Akros wins MESA grant

By Akros Media on February 27, 2014 in Malaria, News

Akros has been awarded a grant from the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance (MESA) to continue the push towards malaria elimination in Lusaka, Zambia. The grant of almost USD $200,000 will be used to 1) Develop risk maps of residual transmission and the risk of onward transmission from imported malaria cases and 2) Assess sensitivity of risk maps to target malaria interventions to stop the importation and spread of malaria transmission in Lusaka, Zambia.

Malaria Indicator Surveys conducted in 2010 and 2012 found zero malaria parasite infections among children under the age of five during high transmission season. However, confirmed malaria cases were still reported at health facilities, likely due to small pockets of residual malaria transmission and malaria being transported into Lusaka through people returning to Lusaka from outlying regions. These pockets must be eliminated to achieve zero transmission and imported malaria cases must not be allowed to re-establish transmission once malaria elimination is achieved.

We can greatly reduce the cost and increase the impact of our interventions if we know precisely what areas to target. It is to that end that Akros will be able to generate these content-rich risk maps, giving Zambia a clear picture of where to target its resources.

This project builds upon two years of experience implementing a reactive case detection system as well as the establishment of a fully functional molecular lab in Lusaka. Answering these questions of how to specifically target and eliminate remaining reservoirs of transmission is absolutely crucial to eliminating malaria in Lusaka and other urban centers throughout Africa.

Click here to learn more about the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance and the four malaria malaria eradication projects it is supporing.