Malaria High-Risk Populations in Namibia

Summary

This study aims to determine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of targeted delivery of a package of malaria interventions for improving effective coverage and reducing Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission among malaria high-risk populations in Northern Namibia. Previous research identified cattle herders and agricultural workers as populations at higher risk of infection. The investigators hypothesize that targeted delivery of interventions will lead improve coverage in these groups and lead to a reduction in P. falciparum transmission.

Timeline

Start

2019-10-31

Primary completion

2020-06-30

Completion

2020-06-30

Publications

• Background Jacobson JO, Cueto C, Smith JL, Hwang J, Gosling R, Bennett A. Surveillance and response for high-risk populations: what can malaria elimination programmes learn from the experience of HIV? Malar J. 2017 Jan 18;16(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s12936-017-1679-1.
• Background Smith JL, Ghimire P, Rijal KR, Maglior A, Hollis S, Andrade-Pacheco R, Das Thakur G, Adhikari N, Thapa Shrestha U, Banjara MR, Lal BK, Jacobson JO, Bennett A. Designing malaria surveillance strategies for mobile and migrant populations in Nepal: a mixed-methods study. Malar J. 2019 May 3;18(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s12936-019-2791-1.
• Background Smith JL, Auala J, Haindongo E, Uusiku P, Gosling R, Kleinschmidt I, Mumbengegwi D, Sturrock HJ. Malaria risk in young male travellers but local transmission persists: a case-control study in low transmission Namibia. Malar J. 2017 Feb 10;16(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12936-017-1719-x.
• Background Wu L, van den Hoogen LL, Slater H, Walker PG, Ghani AC, Drakeley CJ, Okell LC. Comparison of diagnostics for the detection of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infections to inform control and elimination strategies. Nature. 2015 Dec 3;528(7580):S86-93. doi: 10.1038/nature16039.
• Background Kern SE, Tiono AB, Makanga M, Gbadoe AD, Premji Z, Gaye O, Sagara I, Ubben D, Cousin M, Oladiran F, Sander O, Ogutu B. Community screening and treatment of asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium falciparum with artemether-lumefantrine to reduce malaria disease burden: a modelling and simulation analysis. Malar J. 2011 Jul 29;10:210. doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-10-210.
• Background Hsiang M, Ntuku H, Roberts K, Dufour M-s, Whittemore B, Tambo M, et al. The effectiveness of malaria reactive focal mass drug administration (rfMDA) and reactive vector control (RAVC), a cluster-randomised controlled two-by-two factorial design trial from the low-endemic setting of Namibi. 2019. Unpublished.
• Background Initiative ME. Planning for targeted malaria interventions in high-risk populations (HRPs) in Northern Namibia: Findings from a rapid formative assessment in Zambezi Region. University of California, San Francisco, 2019.
• Background The Global Health Group. Screen and treat strategies for malaria elimination: a review of evidence. 2018.
• Background Malaria Elimination Initiative. Planning for targeted malaria interventions in high-risk populations (HRPs) in Northern Namibia: Findings from a rapid formative assessment in Ohangwena Region. University of California, San Francisco, 2019.
• Background Naing C, Whittaker MA, Tanner M. Inter-sectoral approaches for the prevention and control of malaria among the mobile and migrant populations: a scoping review. Malar J. 2018 Nov 16;17(1):430. doi: 10.1186/s12936-018-2562-4.
• Background IOM (International Organization for Migration). A global report on population mobility and malaria: moving towards elimination with migration in mind. 2013.
• Smith JL, Ntuku H, Rerolle F, Burke AM, Mwema T, Turcios K, Uusiku P, Haikali JK, Lifasi M, Smith-Gueye C, Vajda E, Jacobson JO, Greenhouse B, Gosling R, Bennett A, Mumbengegwi DR. Targeting malaria in high-risk populations in low endemic regions in northern Namibia: a quasi-experimental controlled trial to reduce malaria in seasonal agricultural workers and cattle herders. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Feb 17;10(2):e015565. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015565.

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