Climate change and malaria control: a call to urgent action from Africa’s frontlines
In December 2024, L'Initiative-Expertise France organized a workshop in Musanze, Rwanda, for National Malaria Control and Elimination Programmes (NMC/EPs) representatives from 19 sub-Saharan African countries. The workshop focused on surveillance, modeling, climate forecasting, and innovative control methods to mitigate climate change impacts on malaria. Participants shared challenges, experiences and best practices. Key challenges highlighted include shifts in malaria transmission seasons, disease spread to mid-altitude regions, and infrastructure damage from extreme weather. Additional factors, such as drug and insecticide resistance, the spread of Anopheles stephensi, and changes in vector behaviour, are exacerbating malaria transmission in African cities. Participants stressed the need for collaborative efforts to tackle these evolving threats. This comment reflects the expertise and insights of 19 NMCPs actively managing malaria control and aims at raising awareness, inform policy discussions, and strengthen global partnerships to address the intersection of malaria and climate change.
Authors
- Olivia Ngou
- Emmanuel Hakizimana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-9850)
- Diégo Ayala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4726-580X)
- Gildas A. Yahouédo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4056-325X)
- Emilie Pothin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0800-6381)
- Cyril Caminade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3846-7082)
- Jane Lynda Deuve (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9534-7522)
- Veronica Noseda
- Corinne Merle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4229-365X)
- Ibrahima Diouf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3157-0925)
- Florian Girond (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3894-8505)
- Andre Marie Tchouatieu
- Thibaud de Chevigny
Institutions
- The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) (IT)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (CH)
- Ministry of Health (KH)
- University of Basel (CH)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (FR)
- Centre Universitaire de Labé (GN)
- Norwegian Center of Expertise (NO)
- Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (MG)
- Rwanda Biomedical Center (RW)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
- Medicines for Malaria Venture (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Malaria Journal
- Published
- 2025-06-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05431-5
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Malaria Research and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.39