Under the conference theme, ‘Partnering for Impact’, IVCC hosted its first stakeholder conference in three years in its home town of Liverpool on 19^th September.   Ahead of the full day conference at Liverpool’s Town Hall, 150 guests were invited a very special pre-conference dinner at Liverpool’s iconic Anglican Cathedral where they were able to meet and network over dinner whilst being treated to a stunning performance from mezzo soprano Jennifer Johnston, artist in residence at Liverpool’s philharmonic orchestra.

IVCC was delighted to welcome Dr Ruth Shakespeare, former medical director of the Mulanjee Mission hospital in Malawi, as the keynote speaker.  Dr Ruth’s honest and very real testimony to the challenges of dealing with malaria on the ground grabbed everyone’s attention.  Dr Ruth spoke passionately how her hospital ward can become overrun with malaria cases if there is no adequate vector control support in the local area, often with more than seventy percent of hospital beds being filled with children suffering from serious cases of malaria.  However, Dr Ruth’s message was also one of real hope.  Following the introduction of next generation IRS in the area, malaria cases have fallen dramatically.  Moreover, Dr Ruth has shown how the mission hospital approach can be a model for how future IRS and other vector control initiatives can be efficiently and effectively rolled out across local community settings.   (A full copy of Dr Ruth’s speech can be found here)

IVCC’s programme for the day was filled with a series of panel discussions and presentations from a range of distinguished guests drawn from all corners of the malaria community, including funders, industry, academia and regulators.  As well as valuable networking time, attendees were also able to view an extensive scientific poster programme as well as see a demonstration of new ‘smart-lite’ IRS spray technology from Goizper.

A series of inspiring and thought-provoking sessions ensured that key challenges were discussed and debated and and where achievements had been made, they were appropriately recognised.  IVCC would like to thank all participants for making our Stakeholder conference a highly engaging and successful event.

Malaria rates halved throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the years between 2000 and 2015 as a consequence of greatly improved malaria interventions.

These impressive gains reflect a change of emphasis to make vector control a priority in malaria control programmes. Widespread distribution of insecticide-treated bednets made the biggest contribution, together with indoor residual spraying with insecticides through a coordinated control programme in 15 malaria endemic countries. Together these vector control interventions accounted for 78% of the gains.

Globally renowned researchers from leading institutions across the world compiled the figures using a data-driven approach informed by empirical observation in the field. Their conclusions emphasise the key role vector control plays in saving lives and pushing back malaria. They are also a reminder that there is still a long way to go, and the gains need to be maintained: vector-borne diseases like malaria can rebound easily, as past experience has shown.

Maintaining progress is no easy task, faced with increasing insecticide resistance in Africa.  Fortunately, after 10 years of successful development with our industrial partners, new insecticide formulations are already in action and proving effective where there is resistance, anti-resistance bednets are on the near horizon, and several novel public health insecticides for bednets and indoor residual spraying are well on the way, to provide the next generation of vector control tools. But a proactive approach to their use will be essential to prevent future resistance from developing.

Malaria still kills over 433 thousand people a year, mostly children and pregnant mothers; reason enough not to take the pressure off, and to apply all available measures to protect vulnerable people and communities from this ancient scourge. It will need a toolbox of insecticides, drugs, vaccines and diagnostics working together to bring about a permanent solution. Each has a vital role to play, with vector control continuing to be a key element in bringing this vector-borne disease to an end.

This authoritative report* highlights the vital role of vector control in saving lives from malaria, now and in the future. It is worth taking time to consider its analysis. Don’t take our word for it, read the facts for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

*The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015. S Bhatt, et al.

Nature 526, 207–211 08 October 2015)

Read the Full Report here

Read a review of the Report here

A new $65 million initiative to boost malaria control was announced today in Geneva. IVCC signed a partnership agreement with Unitaid in a project that will combat resistance to insecticides by improving access to new, low-cost anti-mosquito sprays across Africa.

The Next Generation Indoor Residual Spray project, known as NgenIRS, will support countries in obtaining new and effective insecticides at lower prices to spray walls in homes and fight growing insecticide resistance. Over four years, the project aims to protect as many as 50 million people from malaria in 16 African countries. Despite its effectiveness in combating malaria, indoor spraying of walls has fallen by 40 per cent in the past four years. The drop is due to increased resistance of mosquitoes to older products and higher cost of new alternatives.

IVCC will team up with the US President’s Malaria Initiative, Abt Associates, PATH and the Global Fund to work with industry and country malaria-control programmes to make alternative insecticides with high efficacy more readily available in countries with a high burden of malaria. The initiative will use a co-payment from Unitaid to bring down the price of these new and more effective products in the short term.

A further aim is to reduce the cost of procuring products in the long term through improved forecasting and increased competition among manufacturers.

Welcoming the project, Dr Nick Hamon, IVCC CEO said, “recent evidence has shown that insecticides are the first line of defence against malaria, responsible for nearly 80 per cent of malaria cases averted since 2000. We are working with our industry partners to bring to market as soon as possible novel insecticides that are in the pipeline.’

Lelio Marmora, Executive Director of Unitaid said that the initiative would bolster the central role of insecticides in controlling malaria. “If the insecticide resistance continues to spread unabated, there could be 120,000 more deaths from malaria a year”, he said. “Unless newer insecticides are used, we run the risk of considerable reversals in the fight against malaria. This is the first of many other initiatives by Unitaid to control the spread of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes.”

Speaking at the launch of the project, Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, said that it would help maintain the effectiveness of vector control in the short term and encourage competition as prices decrease and demand grows. “Effective vector control is a cornerstone of our global strategy for malaria,’ he said. “It is responsible for many of the gains seen over the last decade in malaria control and elimination. We welcome this joint initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of new insecticides and vector control tools.”

Find out more at www.ivcc.com/market-access/ngenirs/

Insecticide treated bednets are highly effective at reducing malaria transmission, despite the rise in insecticide resistance, according to a study carried out by the WHO. But this is not grounds for complacency, according to the President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Dr Stephen Higgs. ‘This study provides encouraging news that we have not yet run out of time in battling insecticide resistance’, he said. ‘However, we must take advantage of the time we now have to invest in research, and generate new tools that will allow us to finally defeat this complex and challenging disease.’

The WHO research across five countries showed that people who slept under a long-lasting insecticide treated net (LLIN) had significantly lower rates of malaria infection than those who did not use a net. This was consistent with recent research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which showed that insecticide treated bednets provided significant protection to children in an area of Malawi with considerable malaria transmission and low levels of insecticide resistance. The research found that the insecticide treated bednets still kill mosquitos even in areas where there is known resistance.

Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme said that the key finding of the study is that treated nets continue to be a highly effective tool in the malaria fight. ’The study supports WHO’s call for achieving universal coverage of long-lasting insecticide treated bednets for all populations at risk of malaria,’ he said.

According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2015, mosquito nets have been the most important malaria control tool in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for an estimated 69% of cases prevented through interventions since 2001. Since 2000, malaria case incidence has declined by 37% globally and malaria death rates have fallen by 60%.  In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most heavily affected by malaria, cases and deaths have fallen by 42% and 66%, respectively.

Following the study Dr Alonso has called for a global strategy for comprehensive control of disease carrying insects to be high on the agenda for the 2017 World Health Assembly. He said there is a growing need for sustainable approaches supported by enhanced expertise to aid the fight against malaria and other insect-borne diseases.  WHO continues to highlight the urgent need for new and improved malaria-fighting tools to accelerate progress towards global elimination goals and is calling for greater investments in vector control interventions, improved diagnostics and more effective medicines.

IVCC is at the forefront of the fight against disease carrying insects. Intensive research since 2005, with global leaders in insecticide development, has produced a promising pipeline of new anti-mosquito tools currently under development. WHO is revising its process for reviewing and recommending new malaria vector interventions in order to fast track their route to the field.

Despite growing mosquito resistance to insecticides, vector control remains the main way of preventing and reducing malaria transmission, says the WHO in its recently released World Malaria Report 2016.

‘Long-lasting insecticidal nets are the mainstay of malaria prevention’, said Secretary General, Margaret Chan, adding that the WHO recommends their use for all people at risk of malaria. ‘Across sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of people sleeping under treated nets has nearly doubled over the last 5 years’, she said.

The report spotlights a number of positive trends, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the region that carries the heaviest malaria burden. It shows that, in many  countries, access to disease-cutting tools is expanding at a rapid rate for those most in need.

Although excellent progress has been made, in 2015 there was still a global tally of 212 million cases of malaria and 429 000 deaths. Gaps in coverage are reported for key interventions such as bed nets and in-door residual spraying, with around 43% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still unprotected.

The progress of the past 15 years is threatened by the rapid development and spread of mosquito resistance to insecticides. Antimalarial drug resistance could also jeopardize recent gains.

Welcoming the Report, IVCC CEO, Dr Nick Hamon said, ‘The significant gains in the battle against malaria are to be applauded, but the battle is far from over. Vector control is now widely recognised as a key player in the battle and IVCC is deeply committed to ensuring it delivers the new vector control tools needed to ultimately defeat this insidious disease.’

Find out more about the World Malaria Report 2016 here.