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Africa

Africa: Bringing Research to Life – From Hypotheses to Policies

todayOctober 30, 2024 1

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At Malaria Consortium, we want our research to make a difference. It’s why attending international conferences such as the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) is an important part of our calendar. Undertaking quality research to inform the most contextually appropriate and effective programmes is fundamental to the way we operate. Sharing our evidence means its value can be multiplied — contributing to more lives saved and improved health for communities.

Held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 73rd meeting of the ASTMH will see the coming together of the field’s leading minds across tropical infectious diseases, hygiene and global health. We talked to our colleagues attending this year’s conference to find out more about the work they do, what they hope the impact will be and why conferences like ASTMH are important.

Filling in the evidence gaps

A big part of Malaria Consortium’s work is geared towards collecting evidence to guide the best interventions to tackle disease. That means first looking at what we don’t know, and then conducting the research to answer these key questions.

Some of this fundamental work will be showcased at ASTMH. We know, for instance, that interventions to tackle malaria are typically aimed at children under the age of five, as children bear the biggest risk of developing severe forms of the disease. However, “there is anecdotal information of the shifting malaria burden from children under five years old to older, school-going children up to 13 years old,” says Anthony Nuwa, Senior Technical Coordinator for Malaria Consortium Uganda and lead author of a new study that will be presented at the conference that confirms this hypothesis. It found that older children are just as affected by malaria in Uganda and indicates “that malaria programmes should consider interventions and approaches to cover the older children,” says Nuwa.

Driving innovative research also requires testing new technologies and methodologies. Azuka Iwegbu, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager for Malaria Consortium Nigeria, was part of a study that investigated the use of digital tools in vector control research — specifically, evaluating the effectiveness of these tools during larval surveys for insecticide resistance studies, and whether they could enable mapping of mosquito breeding sites for vector control. This is important, Iwegbu says, as profiling of mosquitoes with actual coordinates is tricky. Digital tools are a benefit, “enhancing data accuracy and facilitating more effective vector control strategies,” he says.

Driving change

The aim of Malaria Consortium’s research is, ultimately, to have a real-world impact — whether that be to guide health interventions, influence policy or strengthen data-informed decision-making practices. Collecting and presenting high-quality evidence is a crucial step in that endeavour.

The work led by Neide Canana, Senior Research Coordinator for Malaria Consortium Mozambique, illustrates how research can inform the most appropriate policy. Her research investigated the cost-effectiveness of implementing seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in northern Mozambique and found that implementing SMC was, indeed, a cost-effective solution to improving the health of children under the age of five in that region. “The findings from this research will be instrumental in informing policy decisions,” says Canana. “These results will provide a foundation of evidence for stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Health and funding partners, to make informed decisions about future malaria prevention strategies.”

Elisabeth Chestnutt is investigating why people might not use insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), despite having access to them. This is even though we know that ITNs play a “crucial role in reducing malaria transmission,” says Chestnutt, Technical Writing Specialist at Malaria Consortium and lead author. The research, which is part of the Be In A Net project, looks at using behavioural strategies to design an intervention that would encourage people with an ITN to sleep under it every night. The hope is that this preliminary research can be a basis for funding a randomised control trial (RCT) in the future to demonstrate its effectiveness. “If the RCT demonstrates impact, we hope this intervention will be adopted in other geographies where there are similar gaps between ITN access and use,” Chestnutt says.

Some of our research focuses on the challenges of delivering interventions in challenging settings. Work led by Margaret Ebob Besem, Operational Research Specialist for Malaria Consortium Cameroon, looked at how the spread of malaria can be prevented in areas affected by conflict, focusing on Cameroon’s South-West and Littoral Regions. The study, which is part of the Breaking Barriers initiative, looked at how to boost community engagement through the Community Health Participatory Approach (CoHPA), through cash vouchers and community health worker supervision, in order to promote health-seeking behaviours. The aim of the work is to “provide compelling evidence to inform policy on the provision of quality malaria care and treatment for internally displaced persons,” she says, and to “ultimately contribute to improved malaria programming in conflict-affected communities.”

Fostering collaboration and driving innovation

At Malaria Consortium, we understand that our work is done most effectively when it’s completed alongside, and in partnership with, academic institutions, national ministries of health and local organisations. Conferences such as ASTMH bring together academics, policy makers and organisations from across the globe to share their knowledge and to collaborate on their goal of ending preventable, treatable diseases and improving health outcomes for those most susceptible to disease — including women, children, and marginalised and displaced communities.