MMS in Ugandan refugees project
Surveillance of P. falciparum Drug and Diagnostic Resistance in Refugee Populations
Study Period: May 2024-April 2027
The malaria molecular surveillance (MMS) in Ugandan refugee populatons is a three-year project funded by the BMGF (Grant ID: INV-067853) and GSK (Grant number 222739) to conduct a comprehensive malaria molecular surveillance in refugee populations and generate high quality molecular, epidemiological and entomologic data for monitoring the geographic and temporal trends in key malaria genomic and epidemiologic data to inform interventions to best protect refugee and local host populations. This project is led by the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC) in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, Uganda Christaian University, Mukono, Uganda, the Ministry of Health Uganda (MoH), Brown University, USA, Malaria Consortium, South Sudan, and National Institute of Public Health, Burundi
Malaria remains a major global health problem, and emerging antimalarial drug and diagnostic resistance in Africa threaten control efforts. Investments in molecular, parasitological, and clinical surveillance have enabled the early detection of emerging resistance phenotypes, facilitating informed policy changes before resistance becomes widespread. However, conflicts and instability make routine surveillance nearly impossible in large areas of the continent, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of the dynamics of emerging resistance. Performing safe and effective molecular surveillance in parasite populations originating from conflict zones will be important to characterize malaria epidemiology, enabling mitigation of the impacts of resistance.
Objectives
- To characterize drug resistance profiles of falciparum parasites collected from newly arrived refugees, local host populations, and populations living in conflict regions.
- To characterize diagnostic resistance in falciparum parasites collected from newly arrived refugee, local host populations, and populations living in conflict regions.
- To support cross-border collaboration to improve regional surveillance for drug and diagnostic resistance.
Study Site: Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and other countries from where the refugees are originating.
Collaborators: Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC), Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH), Makerere University, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Uganda Christaian University, Brown University, Malaria Consortium, South Sudan, and National Institute of Public Health, Burundi
Principal Investigator: Stephen Tukwasibwe
Study Sponsor: BMGF and GSK
