Lake Victoria Islands MalSchistoHel Integrated Project

Jessa Gitaka of Mount Kenya University in Kenya will work to integrate surveillance and control of three diseases - malaria, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths - in five Lake Victoria islands where these diseases are highly prevalent. This should improve cost-effectiveness and promote greater participation. They have already established facilities and systems to semi-annually survey malaria in the region, which includes a 30-person motorboat to access the islands, a parasitology laboratory and trained personnel. They will exploit this setup to first collect general data and identify those who are infected during clinic visits and household surveys, and then perform mass drug administration for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths using standard treatments.