MESA FORUM: Responding to the threat of Anopheles stephensi invasion in Africa

The MESA Alliance would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming forum, “Responding to the threat of Anopheles stephensi invasion in Africa“.

Anopheles stephensi, an invasive malaria vector, was historically considered an Asian malaria vector. However, in 2012 it was detected for the first time in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. It has since been detected in close proximity countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and more recently in Nigeria and Kenya.

Malaria transmission in Africa has been overwhelmingly rural, but this could change with the advent and expansion of An. stephensi. It is an efficient urban malaria vector with the capacity to transmit both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. And is resistant to several classes of insecticides. It has so far been linked to P. falciparum malaria epidemics in Djibouti and most recently in Dire Dawa, a city in Ethiopia and thus poses a threat to malaria control in this rapidly urbanising continent.

The forum will highlight the importance of An. stephensi invasion in the context of broader challenges facing malaria control. It will provide an opportunity for actors dealing with An. stephensi globally to come together and engage in a discourse about measures used to come to grips with An. stephensi and apply the best course of action to face the challenge of this invasion in Africa.

Date: 21st Feb 2023

Time: 2 pm CET

Duration: 1h30

Format: Open-access via Zoom platform with prior pre-registration of the participants. In addition, the event will be streamed live via the MESA YouTube channel. It will be conducted in English with French and Arabic translations.

PANELISTS:

Chair: Fitsum G Tadesse – Lead Scientist, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) Ethiopia

• Seth Irish – World Health Organization
• Gudissa Assef – National Malaria Elimination Program Director, Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
• Sinnathamby Noble Surendran – Professor of Zoology, University of Jaffna
• Ashwani Kumar – Director ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, India
• Sarah Zohdy – U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative Entomology Team Lead

Please register to attend the event via this link.

*You can send us your questions through the Zoom registration form or via e-mail (mesa@isglobal.org)

 

AGENDA:

Opening & Welcoming remarks: Introduction to the session (agenda and speakers) [FT]

Introduction: the problem

• Overview, relevance and the current status of An. stephensi’s geographical spread: WHO Threats Map [SI]

Procedures: the response and challenges

• Ethiopia’s Action Plan on An. stephensi and recent updates [GA]
• Sri Lanka case study: Staying malaria free [SNS]
• India case study: Lessons learnt from decades fighting the vector [AK]
• Opportunities: A path forward for Africa [SZ]

Discussion: Q&A

• Questions from the participants will be gathered in advance and used to guide the discussions [Open to all]

Closing remarks [FT]

You can read more on this topic on MESA Deep Dive on Anopheles stephensi.