MALARIA IN AFRICA
According to the World Health Organization, the African region carries a “disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.” The region was home to 93% of malaria cases in 2018 alone and contributed to the deaths of 405,000 people, most of them children. Due to the amount of illness and death it causes, malaria creates a powerful negative impact on many national economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
The disease is caused by a parasite that is carried by mosquitoes. When an infective mosquito bites a human, malaria is quickly transmitted, leading to severe illness and even death. Understanding the threat, governments have employed various prevention methods to stop the spread of the disease including: indoor residual spraying; mosquito netting programs; diagnostics testing and antimalarial medicines; and l’avicidine and spatial spraying. These interventions offer varying levels of success.
PROACTIVE INNOVATION TO END MALARIA
Rather than taking preventative measures, drone technology offers a proactive approach. Remotely controlled drones can fly directly to mosquito breeding grounds – the source of the problem.
Once at a potential breeding area, AI models can be used to detect mosquito breeding sites, develop “signatures” of these sites, and collect data for deep analysis. Information on these “hotspots” is then sent back to governments for investigation and action.
The final and most important step in this technologically advanced malaria eradication program is targeted spraying. UAVs are equipped with the necessary larvicide tools to spray multiple hotspots quickly and safely.
TURNING THE TIDE WITH DRONE DATA COLLECTION
By targeting disease-carrying mosquitoes at their inception point, drones eliminate their numbers as well as reduce the need for interventions such as home and indoor spraying. Eradicating the number of disease carrying pests leads to a lower infection rate, saves lives, and contributes to the positive development of national economies.
Drone technology also has knock-on effects. Governments are able to use mosquito breeding ground mapping to not only attack hotspots but also incorporate this knowledge into agriculture and land management planning.
In summary, using drone technology in the fight against malaria is cost effective, uses less larvicide, and is faster and more accurate than current measures.
SOLVING AFRICA’S BIGGEST CHALLENGES
Charis UAS provides rapid and high-quality aerial imagery and data analysis to the health sector and other industries. Through our drone-based solutions, we aim to solve some of Africa’s biggest challenges.
If you’re interested in how our services can help support your project, contact us at
+250788386081 / +250781186614 or info@charisuas.com.
