The Djibouti Friendly? Mosquito Program: Special Edition Newsletter
We’re delighted to update you on the first pilot releases of Friendly? Anopheles stephensi in Ambouli, Djibouti City!?
On the 23rd of May 2024,?Djibouti took a historic step in the fight to end malaria, launching the first pilot releases of Oxitec’s Friendly? mosquitoes on African soil.
The Djibouti Friendly? Mosquito Program – a public-private partnership between Djibouti’s National Malaria Control Program, the public health not-for-profit Association Mutualis, and Oxitec, is leveraging local expertise with Oxitec’s proven, biological Friendly? platform to launch a new chapter in the fight against a growing new urban malaria threat now spreading across Africa.
These first releases mark an important first step towards the development of a Friendly? solution to combat Anopheles stephensi,?driven?by the leadership of Djibouti’s government, in collaboration with community leaders and civil society, and with the support of a global coalition of experts and supportive organisations.?
Covered in this edition:
About the first pilot releases of?Friendly? Anopheles stephensi
The first releases of non-biting Friendly? Anopheles stephensi male mosquitoes were conducted in Ambouli, a community in Djibouti City - in the Horn of Africa - following review and approvals from the Government of Djibouti’s regulatory authorities and importation ?of the Friendly? mosquitoes into Djibouti in December 2023. Releases of Friendly? male mosquitoes continued in the following weeks, alongside mosquito monitoring, to study how these released Friendly? males behave in Djiboutian communities.
These first pilot releases follow?detailed study of Anopheles stephensi?in Djiboutian towns and neighbourhoods over more than two years, alongside deep local community and stakeholder engagement. In workshops and public meetings, health officials, local community leaders and regional experts have contributed to the design and implementation of community field studies.
Our next steps include carrying out robust field pilots, and working with our partners to begin laying the groundwork for scaling this technology in East Africa and beyond, empowering communities to fight the invasive malaria-spreading Anopheles stephensi.?
Learn more in our press release .?
Learn more about Friendly? technology .
About Anopheles stephensi
In 2012, Djibouti had all but eliminated malaria within its borders, with just 27 cases detected that year. In the following years, cases and deaths have risen exponentially, reaching 73,000 cases in 2020.
This dramatic increase has been driven by the arrival and spread of the Anopheles stephensi mosquito – a highly invasive species which thrives in urban environments, considered among the major threats to malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.
These mosquitoes are daytime biters, they evade interventions such as bed nets and are difficult to control as they have developed resistance to chemical insecticides. As it continues to spread, Anopheles stephensi is predicted to threaten more than 100 million people living in cities across Africa.
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement is central to the Djibouti Friendly? Mosquito Program’s work, and we’re committed to building deep trust and strong relationships with the communities we serve.
As Oxitec has worked to develop a Friendly? solution for the urban malaria vector Anopheles stephensi, our dedicated Djibouti team - working in partnership with Djibouti’s National Malaria Program and the not-for-profit Association Mutualis - has been informing and engaging communities in and around Djibouti City on the Program’s work. Local trained community health leaders are at the forefront of these engagement activities.
Community members have assisted with mosquito surveillance by hosting mosquito traps around their homes, and we have carried out mark-release-recapture studies with wild-type, non-biting male mosquitoes in the same neighbourhoods, with community members themselves conducting the releases.
Djibouti Friendly? Mosquito Program in the News?
We were grateful that the first releases of?Friendly? Anopheles stephensi?featured across global media. We've included some highlights below.?