Announcement
Announcement on Engagement Between AUDA-NEPAD and Developers of Emerging Vector Control Tools and Technologies
Africa continues to bear a heavy brunt of vector borne diseases. Thousands of lives, mostly of young children, are lost every year; which undermines efforts deployed at various levels for increased life expectancy and improved wellbeing for the socio-economic transformation of the continent. Accelerated changes and complementary tools are urgently needed to ensure effective elimination of vector borne diseases on the continent. Genetic engineering has been identified as one of such promising tools when applied to mosquito populations to reduce the transmission of the malaria parasite.
At the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government of July 2017, African leaders committed to investing in the development and regulation of the gene drive technology as well as other new innovations, including next generation insecticides for indoor residual spray and LLIN, rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for the elimination of malaria. The African Union High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) has recommended gene drive as one of the technologies on the horizon that has the potential to contribute to the control and elimination of malaria on the continent[1]. In 2018, through recommendations of the African ministers responsible for science and technology, the Executive Council of the African Union called upon Member States to harness emerging technologies, including gene drive, in their development initiatives. All these political pronouncements speak to the fact that the continent appreciates the need for harnessing emerging and existing innovations to support integrated vector management.
The African Union Development Agency – NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), based on these political decisions and the recommendations from the African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET), continues to provide African Union Members States with the necessary support to ensure that research on and development of emerging tools such as genetically-based vector control tools are conducted in a responsible manner and in full compliance with safety requirements for human health and the environment for the benefit of African communities.
AUDA-NEPAD reaffirms her commitment to supporting AU Member States in building regulatory systems that are required to safely explore the usage of innovative tools for the elimination of malaria and other arthropod-borne diseases. The AUDA-NEPAD IVM programme encourages any parties bringing into AU Member States emerging vector control tools, such as transgenic insects, to engage with us as per our mandate "as the continent’s technical interface with development partners & stakeholders". This announcement is to invite such developers and innovators to contact AUDA-NEPAD through the Africa IVM Secretariat using the information provided below.
Barbara Glover
Programme Manager
Africa Integrated Vector Management Programme
Email address: BarbaraG@nepad.org
[1] https://www.nepad.org/publication/gene-drives-malaria-control-and-elimination-africa