Organized by the MIM Society in collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Center, the conference will provide a platform for malaria stakeholders to showcase their latest research and foster dialogue around strengthening collaborations. The conference theme, 'Grassroots Mobilization to End Malaria: Invest, Innovate & Integrate,' will spotlight community-based efforts, innovation, and research that are instrumental to the development and implementation of new tools for malaria control. The 8th MIM Society PAMC will be held April 21-27, 2024, at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.
At PATH, we support a number of malaria control and elimination efforts rooted in deep technical expertise, ranging from accelerating malaria vaccine development and introduction, advancing vector control, improving diagnostic tests, expanding access to existing and new tools, and developing, evaluating, and scaling digital platforms to inform decision-making. This work will be on display at the 8th MIM Society PAMC through PATH-organized symposia, oral scientific presentations and posters, and side-meetings with partners.
In addition to sharing the findings and knowledge of PATH teams and collaborators, our presence and engagement at the PAMC reflect our commitment to partnership and innovative, data-driven solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing the malaria community. We look forward to seeing you in Kigali!
Join the conversation online at #MIM2024 and via @PATHTweets, @PATHMalaria, and @MalariaVaccine.
See below for a full lineup of PATH’s symposia, oral presentations, and poster presentations at the conference. Times for all MIM events are in Central African Time (CAT).
- Symposia
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The interpretation and reporting of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (the MaCRA project): results from a multi-country study in Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Uganda.
Time: Monday, April 22 | 10:30AM-12:00PM
Location: MH4
Speakers will present findings from the four study partner countries of the MaCRA project. First, speakers will provide an overview of the study describing the rationale, study objectives, and the multi-country design. They will then present the findings from each country focusing on the characteristics of the healthcare workers recruited to participate in the study, the levels of agreement between malaria RDT results reported by HCWs and an independent panel, and the discrepancies between data reported in health facility registers and health information systems in each country. Furthermore, they will present results on the evaluation of an automated interpretation algorithm to read malaria RDTs and how this tool may support endemic countries in the correct interpretation and reporting of malaria RDTs. The intended audience for this symposium includes NMPs, researchers, implementers, and funding organizations working on malaria diagnosis, case management, surveillance, and control. The symposium will provide information to clarify issues around malaria RDT diagnosis and its impact on surveillance reports and will discuss possible solutions.
Now we have two: Malaria vaccines, from integration to scale-up.Time: Monday, April 22 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Location: Main Auditorium
The symposium will share the latest available data on the two WHO-recommended malaria vaccines; lessons learned from the pilot program and newly introducing countries; perspectives on the integration required for successful implementation; and research priorities for the two vaccines. Speakers include representatives of the ministries of health of Cameroon and Ghana, Gavi, and WHO, among others and is co-chaired by Dr. Dorothy Achu (WHO Regional Office for Africa) and John Bawa (PATH). The symposium format is designed to engage malaria program leaders and implementers, scientists, and advocates in dialogue about the challenges, opportunities, and priorities for malaria vaccine introduction and scale-up.
When is routine malaria data good enough for programmatic decision making? Country experiences ranging from control to elimination.Time: Tuesday, April 23 | 10:30AM - 12:00PM
Location: MH4
Routine malaria data are critical for informing targeting interventions, measuring progress in elimination efforts, and rapidly responding to identified outbreaks or programmatic bottlenecks. However, the full potential of routine malaria data is yet to be realized as efforts have been made to assess data quality (through RDQAs) without fully linking the findings to specific programmatic objectives or without tracking the implementation of recommended actions. As more malaria-endemic countries scale their implementation of RDQAs, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the varying RDQA approaches, tailoring data quality findings to specific programmatic questions, as well as systematically monitoring the impact of sustained RDQA efforts over time is paramount. This symposium will bring together national malaria control programmes and experts to share their country experiences and novel analytical approaches to optimize the use and future scale-up of RDQA and ultimately improve the uptake and use of routine data to support decision-making for malaria elimination.
Fighting malaria with genomics in Africa: Current status, achievements and prospects.Time: Wednesday, April 24 | 1:30PM - 3:00PM
Location: AD12
Genomic technologies are driving some of the most ground-breaking research and surveillance approaches happening today. Yet the benefits of these tools will not be fully realized unless they are deployed worldwide. The gap in application and utilization of data and evidence generated by genomic surveillance is even bigger in Africa with a high burden of many infectious diseases including malaria. Malaria, as the paradigm of a disease that mainly affects the Global South, represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate how attention to equity in deploying and utilizing genomics can achieve its immense potential benefit to human health. In this symposium, speakers will discuss recent initiatives, achievements and opportunities for the use of malaria molecular surveillance (MMS) for public health impact. They will also reflect on gaps and needs for an impactful deployment and utilization of MMS programs in Africa. This symposium will bring together the malaria control program perspective (which is the added value of genomic and bioinformatics technologies for MMS), the researchers’ perspective (what are the gaps in knowledge for the use of genomic data in the fight against malaria) and the implementation perspective (financing, training, ethical, legal, and social issues).
Country programme approaches to strengthening malaria surveillance systems.Time: Wednesday, April 24 | 1:30PM - 3:00PM
Location: AD10
National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs) are embarking in operationalizing surveillance as a core malaria intervention. Quality routine health service data is essential for planning, decision making and resource allocation. However, country readiness to develop, implement and sustain fit-for-purpose malaria surveillance systems significantly differs among endemic countries requiring adaptation of approaches and tools across all surveillance components. In this symposium, NMCPs will present and discuss their experiences in developing different essential components of a strong malaria routine surveillance system. The aim is to discuss the importance of the different components, lessons in their development and integration, challenges in implementation and opportunities for positive impact on NMCP decision-making.
Counteracting pfhrp2/3 deletion threats: From survey and modelling research to forecasting and market shaping.Time: Friday, April 26 | 1:30PM - 3:00PM
Location: AD10
P. falciparum parasites with pfhrp2/3 gene deletions threaten our ability to detect malaria infections using traditional HRP2-based malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). As these gene deletions spread, an increasing number of infections will go undetected and untreated resulting in poor health outcomes and increased transmission. However, efforts are being made to track the spread of pfhrp2/3 deletions and develop new RDTs to counter this threat. This symposium will describe the chain of events starting with the collection of evidence on pfhrp2/3 deletions and ending with the introduction of new malaria diagnostics that can detect infections with pfhrp2/3 deletions. Panelists will present on four links within this chain of events: 1) the collection of grassroots evidence within pfhrp2/3 surveillance studies and study results, 2) modelling research that aggregates these pfhrp2/3 surveillance studies to estimate the spread of pfhrp2/3 deletions, 3) forecasting the need for non-HRP2-only RDTs based on pfhrp2/3 spread modelling, and 4) collecting stakeholder perspectives on the need for non-HRP2-only RDTs and shaping a market for next generation LDH/HRP2-based RDTs.
Relapsing malaria in Africa, diagnosis and treatment considerations.Time: Friday, April 26 | 3:30PM - 5:00PM
Location: Mezzanine
The purpose of this symposium is bring attention to the challenges facing malaria control and elimination efforts by relapsing malaria due to P. vivax and P. ovale. New diagnostic tools with more sensitive detection limits for lactate dehydrogenase, serological markers, point-of-care tests for Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, combined with new drug regimens such as higher dose, but shorter term (7 day) primaquine, and single day tafenoquine enable new approaches towards addressing these challenges. In this symposium, speakers will highlight these challenges and present recent evidence of how these new tools can be combined towards addressing these challenges and providing patients the best treatment options.an impactful deployment and utilization of MMS programs in Africa. This symposium will bring together the malaria control program perspective (which is the added value of genomic and bioinformatics technologies for MMS), the researchers’ perspective (what are the gaps in knowledge for the use of genomic data in the fight against malaria) and the implementation perspective (financing, training, ethical, legal, and social issues).
- Oral Presentations
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A gravity model approach to standardized health facility catchment population estimation.
Presenter: Justin Millar, Research Scientist, PATH
Time: Wednesday, April 24 | 1:30-3:00pm
Location: MH3
The role of stakeholder engagement in research processes and use: Lessons from a realist evaluation of supportive supervision for malaria case management in Benin.Presenter: Mena K. Agbodjavou, PMI Insights
Time: Friday, April 26 | 10:30-12:00pm
Location: AD1
- Poster Presentations
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Poster 4: Subnational tailoring and targeting of vector-control interventions in Ethiopia.
Presenter: Amir Siraj, Research and Data Analyst, PATH
Time: Monday, April 22 | 10:00-10:30am and 3:00-3:30pm
Poster 51: An investigation into the rise in malaria cases in Zambia during the 2022/2023 transmission season.Presenter: William Sheahan, Research Analyst, PATH
Time: Monday, April 22 | 10:00-10:30am and 3:00-3:30pm
Poster 266: Identifying populations at high risk of malaria: a mixed-methods case control study to inform targeted interventions in Senegal.Presenter: Henry Ntuku, Operational Research Lead, PATH
Time: Tuesday, April 23 | 10:00-10:30am and 3:00-3:30pm
Poster 707: Modelling RTS,S delivery strategies in seasonal transmission settings.Presenter: Hayley Thompson, Research and Data Analyst, PATH
Time: Friday, April 26 | 10:00-10:30am and 3:00-3:30pm
Poster 764: Roles, System Support, and Motivation Among Malawi’s Health Surveillance Assistants: A National Profile of CHWs in Hard-to-Reach Areas.Presenter: Travis Porter, Surveillance Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, PATH
Time: Friday, April 26 | 10:00-10:30am and 3:00-3:30pm
