Welcome to the Vector LearningXchange, Roll Back Malaria’s collaborative site where vector control stakeholders from around the world can learn from one another on the most effective ways to prevent malaria. We aim to provide best practices, tools, trainings and lessons learned on vector control operations, entomological monitoring and surveillance, environmental compliance, monitoring and evaluation, community mobilization and social behavior change, capacity building, and gender inclusion. We also provide you with the latest data on insecticide resistance (IR) and resistance management.
In 2015, 106 million people around the world were protected from malaria by indoor residual spraying (IRS). IRS plays a critical role in the fight against malaria, by spraying insecticide on the walls, ceilings, and other indoor resting places of mosquitoes that transmit malaria. Spray operations require complex logistics with meticulous planning at the national, district, and village levels. It entails conducting geographical reconnaissance to identify work sites, procuring insecticide and equipment, managing warehouses, and training thousands of local staff to spray homes and follow environmental and health guidelines. To ensure insecticide kills mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite and reduces residents’ chances of getting bitten, rigorous entomological monitoring and surveillance is needed to guide effective evidence-based decision-making.
IR is seen as the major threat to the effective control of the mosquito vectors of malaria. There is growing evidence that IR is leading to a reduction in the effectiveness of vector control, with a concurrent increased incidence of parasitemia. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, IRS will continue to play an important part in the control of mosquito vectors, and will have a key role in IRM programs, especially in areas where pyrethroid resistance is potentially compromising control.
This site is a collaborative space and we encourage Ministries of Health, National Malaria Control Programs, vector control professionals, implementers, donors, universities, research institutes and any other stakeholders to take part in this community. We hope you will join us in a healthy exchange of dialogue and learning.
The Vector LearningXchange is funded by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).