Trials of solar-powered, active, spatial mosquito control dispensers to reduce malaria

Malaria is the single biggest killer in Africa with 670,000 deaths/year, disproportionately affecting pregnant mothers and <5 year-olds. Over 95% of deaths and 94% of cases occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Morbidity from frequent bouts of malaria (12,000 cases annually/100,000 population) reduces school and work attendance, trapping families in poverty and reducing GDP growth, with high associated healthcare costs. Post-Covid, malaria is rising after 20-year reductions. There is a need for new weapon in the fight against malaria. Active spatial dispensers are common in towns and cities where there’s power. A small heater vaporises a chemical “repellent”, which deters mosquitoes and massively reduces malaria in cities. But 70% of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) live in rural areas, without access to power, so any mosquito vector-control systems are assumed to have to be either communal or passive (e.g., bed nets or repelling strips hanging in eaves). Africa Power (AP) provides Solar Home (Power) Systems (SHS) to provide power for: lights, radios; TVs and sewing-machines to off-grid rural areas. In conjunction with Arctech, AP has developed an extremely low-power, active spatial mosquito control dispenser, designed for use with SHS, of which 1.3 million units were deployed last year alone. Smaller less expensive power systems have also been developed to reach those in extreme poverty (under $1.90/day). Clinical free-flight room trials at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (**LSHTM**) showed a very high >90% reduction in bites and a significant knockdown of mosquitoes. A small trial involving 150 families has tested our active dispenser and gathered the data needed to run a much-larger, fully-objective scientific and statistically-valid field-study. Feedback from the study will be used to improve the units from a user and field perspective and improved versions will be re-validated by Arctech. The study will also determine the best protocols, procedures, training, sensitisation, and routes-to-market to scale deployment regionally, nationally, and then continent-wide. Africa Power is an off-grid rural power solutions company & Arctech Innovations (**Arctech**) is a spin-out company of LSHTM.

Project details

Monitoring & Evaluation
Vector Control

Apr 2023 — Oct 2025

$1.6M

United Kingdom