Understanding the risks and benefits of newly developed irrigation schemes in western Kenya in the context of malaria elimination

Working closely with the Busia County Government’s Departments of Health and Sanitation, Water and Agriculture, National Irrigation Board, local leaders and community, this Wellcome Fellowship aims to provide evidence for association between new irrigation schemes and malaria transmission. This project places a strong emphasis on developing evidence base for policy formulation.

Specific objectives of the project are to understand:

  • Impact of introduced gravity-fed irrigation on land use, aquatic habitat distribution and vector production
  • Influence of introduced gravity-fed irrigation affects the Anopheles populations including species composition, seasonality, biting patterns and sporozoite infections
  • How introduced gravity-fed irrigation affects the socio-economic and nutritional status of community, malaria prevention measures and/or behaviours and malaria prevalence and incidence rates
  • Important geo-spatial variables that are important for malaria propagation on farm- and landscape scale
  • The effectiveness of intermittent irrigation and larviciding with monomolecular surface films for mosquito control in irrigated fields

For more information, contact:

Donor:

  • The Wellcome Trust, UK