Public health authorities in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar are using drones to locate and map mosquito breeding sites in malaria hotspots.
The project is being spearheaded by an international team comprising of the UK’s Aberystwyth University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Program, Tanzanian Flying Labs, Mosquito Consulting, and Zzapp Malaria. Funding is being provided by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium, which was established in 2005 with an initial grant of $50 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Drones boost malaria elimination efforts in Zanzibar
Public health authorities need up-to-date information on malaria hotspots to target elimination efforts better. Drones can map these areas quickly, and once the breeding sites are identified in the drone images, the authorities can use the data within a bespoke smartphone app to…
