Podcast Summary: Beyond Malaria – Africa’s Shift to Integrated Mosquito Management

Podcast: This Week in Global Development
Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Kate Warren (Executive VP, Devex)
Guests:

• Jason Clark (Director, Global Public Health & Forest Health, Valent Biosciences)
• Silas Majambere (Business Manager, Valent Biosciences)
• Sindeh Chakate (Advisor to President, Republic of Benin)

Episode Overview

This special episode of “This Week in Global Development” explores Africa’s transition from malaria-focused interventions to broader, integrated mosquito management (IMM). The panel discusses the limitations of traditional, disease-specific mosquito control, highlights successful global approaches, and dives deep into how countries like Benin are pioneering multi-sectoral, economically driven, and community-based IMM strategies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Case for Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM)

• From Individual to Systemic:
  Host Kate Warren sets the scene with her personal experience in Washington, D.C., highlighting the limits of individual action and the need for systemic, coordinated mosquito control.
  “[Mosquitoes] always seem to win…so it really feels like there’s only so much an individual can do and that really has to be systemic, coordinated and done at a bigger level.” (Kate Warren, 02:11)
• Beyond Malaria:
  Jason Clark explains how traditional control methods (e.g. bed nets, insecticide spraying) are tactical, single-disease approaches, especially prevalent in Africa. Integrated mosquito management takes a broader, strategic view that maximizes limited public health resources to address multiple mosquito-borne diseases and improves overall quality of life and economic outcomes.

  “The idea of management is more of a broader, long term strategic approach that’s integrated, whereas the concept of control…is very tactical.” (Jason Clark, 03:36)

2. Innovations & ‘Reawakenings’ in Mosquito Management

• Targeting the Source:
  Silas Majambere stresses the importance of targeting mosquitoes at their most vulnerable stage – as larvae in water. He points out that while using biological larvicides is not a new idea, its application in Africa has been largely neglected in favor of personal protection measures, and there is now a necessary “reawakening” to this source-based strategy.

  “Controlling mosquitoes at source...is very, very old. It’s not new. It’s been there forever. But…in Africa…source reduction…has been forgotten. So it’s more of a reawakening rather than an innovation.” (Silas Majambere, 07:19)

• Valent’s Innovations:
  Mention of a recent innovation award for developing a new mosquito adulticide alongside continued focus on biological larvicides. (06:40)

3. Lessons from Global and Historical Contexts

• Historical Successes:
  Jason Clark references U.S. history, where integrated mosquito management, policy, and environmental engineering (like draining swamps) led to the elimination of diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. He explains the need to both implement federal policies and decentralize decision-making for context-specific responses.

  “What I’ve seen work is…moving away from commodity donor-based federal decision making only to decentralizing the concept of mosquito management to the local level who understands the situation.” (Jason Clark, 12:39)

• Challenges of Centralized, Donor-Led Approach:
  The African model has remained focused on donor-funded commodities (bed nets, indoor spraying) and centralized control, leading to plateaued malaria progress.

  “It’s not a more money switch…it's a philosophical switch…it's been done before.” (Jason Clark, 13:25)

4. Benin’s Holistic, Cross-Sectoral Shift

• A National Strategy Connected to Economic Development:
  Sindeh Chakate describes Benin’s decision to link mosquito control to tourism and overall economic growth, not merely health, with direct presidential involvement.

  “Having mosquitoes…doesn’t really match well with the development of tourism, which is…the second pillar of growth...” (Sindeh Chakate, 16:07)

• Learning from Abroad:
  The team embarked on international study trips (to the U.S., Vietnam, Djibouti) to adapt best practices and launched a dedicated agency under presidential oversight to drive national mosquito management (18:05).
• Investment, Not Cost:
  Chakate emphasizes the view of mosquito control as an investment with returns in tourism, reduced healthcare costs, and broader economic benefits, with the ultimate aim to scale to all regions of Benin (17:24).

5. The Role of Regional Partnerships & Policy Advocacy

• Pan African Mosquito Control Association:
  Silas Majambere explains the value of regional collaboration, knowledge exchange, and policy influence. The association models itself after successful groups like the American Mosquito Control Association.

  “Mosquitoes don’t have borders. If one country has an issue, the other will have two…The idea here is to, to be together, learn together, put together best practices, influence policy, learn from the outside and try to control mosquitoes on the ground in Africa.” (Silas Majambere, 22:41)

• Global Knowledge Flows:
  Advances in communication mean Africans can more rapidly access successful approaches from elsewhere. Yet, there’s a need to “think differently, do things differently on the continent.” (23:54)
• Persistent Misconceptions:
  Many Africans are unaware that the U.S. and Europe still run large-scale mosquito management programs (24:56).

6. Community Education & Engagement

• Education is Foundational:
  Community buy-in and local understanding are essential for sustainable mosquito control. Education efforts must address the full ecology of vectors—not just malaria.

  “You cannot put a police guard…behind every citizen to make sure that they have the good practices...Acceptance…of the different team coming into their areas and [using] products…explaining the results and…what is…the achievement that we’re looking for is critical.” (Sindeh Chakate, 26:34)

• Local Competence:
  Building technical knowledge and ecological understanding at local levels is as important as public awareness (27:24).
• Global Partnerships:
  External partnerships and learning from international successes play a key role.

7. Advice for Practitioners: Rethinking Mosquito Management

• Beyond a Single Disease:
  Jason Clark urges practitioners to “shift from just saying malaria control to mosquito management.” If interventions target only malaria vectors, people may remain unprotected from other diseases — leading to skepticism about efficacy.

  “If you’re only treating the mosquito that transmits malaria, but the community is continuing to be bit outside, then they’re questioning is this working?...They just know they’re being bitten by a mosquito or even worse, they’re getting sick.” (Jason Clark, 29:21)

• Public Health vs. Medical Model:
  IMM requires moving from reactive “prescription-style” (e.g., nets, spraying) to a preventive, multidisciplinary public health approach, integrating education, policy, and community engagement (30:09).
• Proof-through-Prevention Paradox:
  When IMM is successful, “nothing happens,” making it hard to secure ongoing funding and community investment (31:18).

8. Broader Gains—Health, Economic, and Quality of Life

• Multifaceted benefits of IMM: improved health, boosted tourism, economic growth, and better quality of life, especially crucial in resource-constrained environments (34:19).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Limits of Traditional Approaches:
  “The concept of source reduction or controlling mosquitoes at the source has been forgotten. So it’s more of a reawakening rather than an innovation.” (Silas Majambere, 07:19)

• On National Ownership & Linking to Economics:
  “We really see it as investment because we believe that investing in mosquito control will ultimately bring resources, will bring revenues…reduce the overall cost of malaria and invest that money…bring that level of, I would say, environment control to the whole country.” (Sindeh Chakate, 17:24)

• On Regional Learning:
  “Mosquitoes don’t have borders. If one country has an issue, the other will have two.” (Silas Majambere, 22:44)

• On Public Health Philosophy:
  “Public health is very much the preventative aspect…when you’re successful in public health, nothing happens. So how do you prove a negative?” (Jason Clark, 31:19)

Timestamps to Key Segments

• 00:03 – Introduction, stakes of mosquito-borne disease
• 03:12 – Integrated mosquito management vs. traditional approaches
• 05:44 – The importance of source control and “reawakening” in Africa
• 09:01 – Historical lessons and decentralization in the US context
• 15:24 – Benin’s holistic government-led investment model
• 21:00 – The role of the Pan African Mosquito Control Association
• 25:47 – Education and local engagement in mosquito management
• 29:04 – Rethinking mosquito management for global health professionals

Conclusion

This episode underscores a shift in Africa (and globally) from malaria-only interventions toward holistic, locally owned, and cross-sectoral mosquito management approaches. The experts advocate for integrating environmental engineering, education, decentralization, and economic incentives to create sustainable, community-driven solutions. Their message to practitioners: move beyond the “disease control” paradigm and embrace multidisciplinary, preventive strategies that deliver health and economic returns – learning from both global history and emerging African leadership.