House-based interventions for malaria control in The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Malaria is a major burden on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and particularly affects the poorest of the poor. The burden of disease is extremely high in the country, comprising 12% of the global cases of malaria (World Malaria Report, 2019). About 80% of the population in DRC live on less than $1 a day, with diseases like malaria reducing the economic resilience of the poor. At present, the major malaria intervention is insecticide-treated bednets, but malaria cases have not declined in recent years despite massive deployment of nets, underlying the need to develop additional interventions against this disease. The DRC has many challenges to improve the control of malaria in the country, including its large size and weak infrastructure, its great ecological diversity, high rainfall, extreme poverty and insecurity, coupled with limited expertise to deploy interventions at scale. This project aims to find new tools and interventions that could be used to reduce malaria in rural DRC. In its 2020-2024 strategic plan, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) demonstrates a clear need to strengthen vector control in the country. This has led to propose bringing together a working group including entomologists and the malaria control specialists from Africa (DRC, Benin and Gambia) and members of the GCRF funded BOVA (Building Out Vector borne diseases in Africa) Network based at the University of Durham (UK) to explore house based options for malaria control including insecticide-treated eave ribbons, eaves tubes and screening.

Project details

Vector Control

Nov 2020 — Feb 2022

$31,550

Dem. Rep. of Congo