Djibouti has launched the first full season of pilot releases of Friendly™ _Anopheles stephensi_mosquitoes in Djibouti City, advancing the development of a targeted, sustainable solution to control the disease-spreading _Anopheles stephensi_.
The purpose of these releases, set to continue to mid-2025, is to study the behaviour of Friendly™ _Anopheles stephensi _in Djiboutian communities. This follows the first releases of Friendly™ mosquitoes in Djibouti City in May 2024, the first genetically engineered mosquitoes to be released in East Africa.
“The _Anopheles stephensi _mosquito is derailing the fight against malaria across Djibouti and the region, and our government remains steadfast in our mission to urgently reverse the spread of disease. Innovative tools are needed, and Djibouti is proud to be driving the development of a new generation of sustainable solutions to protect communities. We’re working closely with local communities, our partners at Association Mutualis and Oxitec to bring this solution to impact in the fight to eradicate malaria,” said Colonel Dr Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi, Health Advisor to the President of Djibouti.
The Djibouti Friendly™ Mosquito Program – a public-private partnership between Djibouti’s National Malaria Control Program, the public health not-for-profit Association Mutualis, and Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease and threaten food security – is leveraging local expertise alongside Oxitec’s proven, biological Friendly™ platform to launch a new chapter in the fight against a growing new urban malaria threat now spreading across Africa.
The releases of non-biting Friendly™ _Anopheles stephensi _ male mosquitoes will take place across neighbourhoods in Djibouti City, starting in Douda and Ambouli. Following the launch of the pilot study in May, these releases will demonstrate how Friendly™ _Anopheles stephensi__ _behaves in Djiboutian urban communities, including where they disperse, how long they live, and their ability to mate with local females, paving the way for larger pilots focused on controlling populations of this dangerous mosquito in Djiboutian neighbourhoods.
In 2012, Djibouti had all but eliminated malaria within its borders, with just 27 cases detected that year. In the following years, cases and deaths have risen exponentially, reaching 73,000 cases in 2020. This dramatic increase has been driven by the arrival and spread of the_Anopheles stephensi_ mosquito – a highly invasive species which thrives in urban environments, considered among the major threats to malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa. These mosquitoes are daytime biters which evade interventions such as bed nets and are difficult to control as they have developed resistance to chemical insecticides.
Since its arrival in Djibouti, _Anopheles stephensi _has now spread to Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. As it continues to spread, _Anopheles stephensi _is predicted to threaten more than 100 million people living in cities across Africa.
Oxitec’s safe, sustainable and targeted biological pest control technology is ideally and uniquely suited to control this public health threat. Oxitec’s Friendly™ solutions are harmless to local ecosystems, are species-specific, and are already proven to control the dengue -transmitting _Aedes aegypti__ _mosquito – another invasive disease vector – by more than 95% in dengue-prone urban communities. The Friendly™ _Aedes aegypti_ is now being sold to households, businesses and governments across Brazil in just-add-water devices.
These follow review and approvals from the Government of Djibouti’s regulatory authorities, as well as deep local community and stakeholder engagement over two years. In workshops and public meetings, health officials, local community leaders and regional experts have contributed to the design and implementation of field studies.
“We have no time to lose in the fight against malaria, and these releases mark the next step forward in the development of a new generation of solutions to combat this rapidly spreading urban malaria vector, which today is outpacing traditional efforts to control it. We’re thankful for our outstanding partnership and for the Djiboutian government’s leadership in the fight against malaria. These upcoming releases will play a critical role in the development of a Friendly™ solution to combat the invasive _Anopheles stephensi_, and our teams are working around the clock to make this solution available to communities in need,” noted Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec.