Pape Cheikh Sarr, MARCAD Plus PhD fellow, was awarded the Science for Africa Foundation’s Community Engagement Grant

The project titled "Socio-cultural Days on Mosquitoes and Malaria in the Village", led by MARCAD Plus PhD fellow Pape Cheikh Sarr, is among the projects selected for the Community Engagement Grant. This funding by the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is for two years.

"I am very honored to be among those whose projects have been selected. The Community Engagement Grant is an excellent initiative to encourage researchers to engage in dialogue and interactions to tackle the challenge of community engagement," said Pape Cheikh.

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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR CAPACITY BUILDING IN MODELING APPLIED TO MALARIA VECTORS

 The Context

Like many African countries, Senegal is threatened by the resurgence of vector-borne diseases, including malaria, due to the effects of global climate change. Our aim is to develop and improve mathematical and spatial models to estimate the impact of current and future climate change on the abundance, seasonal activity, vectorial capacity and population dynamics of Anopheles gambiae s.l. in northern and central Senegal. Climate change is contributing to the persistence of residual malaria transmission in Senegal. To assess the risks associated with transmission, morbidity and mortality, it is necessary to combine biological models and climate scenarios using new technological approaches such as artificial intelligence and mathematical modelling.

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Seasonal Malaria Prevention Campaign for Children Under Five

MARCAD Plus PhD fellow, Soumba Keita, began her research activities, on Thursday July 18, 2024, in the village of Sirakorola, located in the health district of Koulikoro in Mali.

A total of 400 children under the age of five, randomly selected by Soumba Keita and her team, participated in the campaign to assess nutritional status coupled with seasonal malaria chemoprevention. This activity marks the start of field research activities of the PhD fellow.

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Public Engagement with Science: Community actors trained in mosquito collection

Forty-two community workers, including 28 men and 14 women, were trained in mosquito capture techniques by PhD MARCAD Plus fellow, Pape Cheikh Sarr. The training sessions were held on 6, 8 and 11 June in the three study villages, namely the village of Darou Salam attached to the Diama health post in the Richard Toll health district, Keur Martin attached to the Fatick district and the village of Pointe Sarène belonging to the Mbour district.

Read more: Public Engagement with Science: Community actors trained in mosquito collection