WANETAM2 Entomology Training Workshop in The Gambia

About Marcad

The Malaria Research Capacity Development Consortium (MARCAD) seeks to train a core group of African scientists in West and Central Africa who will be able to provide relevant answers for the control and elimination of malaria. One PhD and two post-docs fellows are hosted at each partner institution across five African countries (Mali, The Gambia, Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal).

The University Cheikh Anta Diop UCAD, Senegal (Prof O. Gaye) leads the Consortium which includes USTTB, Mali (Prof OK. Doumbo); MRC, The Gambia (Prof U. D'Alessandro); UY1, Cameroon (Prof W. Mbacham) and UHAS, Ghana (Prof HK. Tagbor). Three European institutions collaborate in this programme: LSHTM-UK, LSTM-UK and UoC, Denmark.

WANETAM2 Entomology Training Workshop in The Gambia

The first Entomology Training Workshop was held in The Gambia at MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM from 27th August to 6th September 2018 under the umbrella of The West African Network of Excellence for TB, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM-2). The WANETAM-2 package is a collaborative project that aim to build research capacity in TB, AIDS and Malaria for partner institutions. The MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM under Professor Umberto D’Alessandro leads the malaria component of the project.

The workshop, which was led by Dr. Kevin Opondo, Dr. Benoît S. Assogba, and Musa Jawara from the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM focused on malaria vector research in the context of malaria elimination. Dr. Ibrahima Dia from Institute Pasteur Dakar in Senegal and Dr. Samson Kiware from Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania also took part in teaching at the workshop.

The rigorous 10-day workshop trained participants on theoretical and field-based entomology involving field activities, laboratory techniques, data base management and statistical analysis of entomological data. They were trained on mosquito ecology and vector control, sampling techniques, determination of insecticide resistance using both phenotypic and genotypic assays following World Health Organization protocol. They also learnt how to design proper databases to store entomological data and how to perform basic and advanced statistical analysis of different types of vector data.

The training provided participants with a better understanding of the ecology and biology of the malaria vector Anopheles species and the theory of malaria transmission and control.

Participants came from partner institutions in five countries; Centre Muraz Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Faso, Malaria Research and Training Centre in Mali, Réseau Africain de Recherche sur le SIDA/ Institut de Recherche en Santé de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation (RARS/IRESEF) in Senegal, Institute Pasteur Dakar in Senegal and College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences in Sierra Leone and MRCG at LSHTM in The Gambia.

MARCAD PLUS PROGRAM
MARCAD DIRECTOR PR GAYE INTERVIEW

MARCAD PLUS SELECTED FOR DELTAS AFRICA II PROGRAM

MARCAD Plus is a consortium of institutions putting together their capacities to contribute significatively to malaria and NTDs elimination in West and Central Africa. MARCAD Plus is sponsored by the Welcome Trust and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), working in partnership with the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA)

The MARCAD Plus program
Malaria and NTDs Research Capacity Development (MARCAD Plus) in West and Central Africa is among the 14 consortia selected for the second phase of The Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa (DELTAS Africa) programme. The DELTAS Africa II launch ceremony was held on March 14th, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya. READ MORE INFORMATIONS
For Malaria elimination in Africa

MARCAD Director Pr Gaye interview with the Senegalese national press newspaper about the next DELTASAfrica meeting in Dakar ( from 15th to 17th july) and the importance of DeltasAfrica programme for the Continent.