PAMCA Returns to Nairobi as Africa’s Mosquitoes Evolve

By Stella Njung’e

After a three-year hiatus, members of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA) convened in Nairobi with a warning: the mosquito is changing, and the continent’s fight against malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases must change with it.

The message took centre stage at the 2026 PAMCA Kenya Chapter Annual Conference, held under the theme “Reconnect and Reimagine Mosquito Control in Africa.” The three-day conference, held between 1st – 3rd September 2026, brought together more than 500 scientists, policymakers, public health experts, industry players and researchers from Africa and beyond.

The conference highlighted a rapidly shifting threat landscape, including insecticide resistance and changing mosquito behaviour due to invasive species and climate change, that is challenging the effectiveness of some of Africa’s long-standing approaches to mosquito control.

The mosquito, once largely viewed as a predictable enemy, is proving otherwise. Some species are becoming harder to kill, others are changing when and where they bite, while invasive vectors are finding new environments in which to thrive.

Opening the conference, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)’s Ag. Centre for Virus Research (CVR) Dr. Samoel Khamadi, representing the Institute’s leadership, said these changes demand a new approach to vector control.

“Mosquitoes continue to adapt. Diseases continue to evolve. New environmental and social realities continue to emerge,” he said, citing climate change, rapid urbanisation, insecticide resistance and increased movement of people and goods as factors reshaping the vector-borne disease landscape.

He warned that anticipated El Niño conditions and increased rainfall and flooding could create favourable breeding conditions for mosquitoes, underscoring the need for stronger surveillance, preparedness and rapid response.

“These realities demand that we move beyond business as usual,” Dr. Khamadi said.

He called for stronger partnerships among scientists, governments, communities, industry and development partners, alongside greater use of technologies such as artificial intelligence, genomic surveillance, data science, geospatial technologies and predictive modelling.

“The future of vector control in Africa must be built on innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence,” he said.

The call for renewed collaboration was echoed by PAMCA founder and veteran KEMRI scientist Prof. Charles Mbogo, who reflected on the association’s difficult three-year period, including the cancellation of planned conferences in Cameroon in 2024 and Benin in 2025.

He said the setbacks had prompted PAMCA to confront gaps in governance, financial accountability and institutional structure.

“So today we begin a new chapter,” Prof. Mbogo said. “Our commitment must be to strengthen PAMCA through good governance, sound financial management, ethical leadership and meaningful engagement with our members and partners.”

Established in 2009, PAMCA marks 17 years this year. Prof. Mbogo said the resilience of its country chapters had helped sustain the association and called for greater investment in the next generation of African scientists.

“Mosquitoes do not recognise borders. Neither should our commitment to controlling the diseases they transmit,” he said.

PAMCA Board Chair Prof. Delenasaw Yewhalaw warned that Africa remains vulnerable to emerging and re-emerging mosquito-borne diseases, calling for stronger surveillance systems, improved tools, community-driven innovations and sustained investment in African expertise.

“Hence, PAMCA is our common platform,” he said, describing the association as a space to share knowledge, conduct collaborative research and strengthen dialogue on mosquito-borne diseases.

The scale of the challenge was brought into sharper focus by the conference keynote delivered by Ag. Deputy Director, Centre for Global Health Research, Dr. Eric Ochomo.

Dr. Ochomo said Africa has reached a decisive moment in the fight against malaria. While significant progress was made before 2015, the gains have since slowed, with insecticide resistance, changing mosquito behaviour, species turnover and invasive vectors undermining the effectiveness of existing interventions.

In high-resistance settings, the protective efficacy of pyrethroid-only bed nets has fallen significantly. At the same time, mosquitoes are increasingly biting during the early morning and in outdoor spaces such as markets and school settings where conventional interventions offer limited protection.

First detected in Djibouti in 2012, the emergence of the Anopheles stephensi vector has expanded its presence in Africa, including Kenya’s coastal regions. Unlike many traditional malaria vectors, An. stephensi can thrive in urban environments and breed in artificial water containers, raising concern about its ability to establish itself in Africa’s rapidly growing cities.

Its emergence also carries implications beyond malaria. The urban environments in which it thrives can support transmission of other mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue and chikungunya.

However, the meeting was far from being merely a list of threats. Scientists have demonstrated promising solutions, such as new-generation two-component bed nets, mass drug administration using ivermectin, and larval source management using drones, as well as housing improvements like screened windows and cool painted roofs.

In his remarks, Dr. Ochomo, however, stressed that innovation must be guided by evidence. He cited the failure of attractive sugar baits in a multi-country trial in Kenya, Zambia and Mali despite earlier promise elsewhere.

“Even as we innovate, we must carefully assess the evidence,” he said.

He also pointed to community health promoters as an existing, low-cost surveillance resource that could be better harnessed in countries including Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

For KEMRI, the call for evidence-driven innovation builds on more than four decades of research in malaria and vector control, including vector surveillance, insecticide resistance monitoring, implementation science and evaluation of interventions.

Dr. Khamadi urged researchers to ensure that scientific discoveries translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives.

“The true measure of research excellence lies not in the number of publications we produce, but in our ability to improve lives,” he said.

“Scientific findings must be translated into policy. Innovation must be translated into practice. Knowledge must be translated into impact.”

The conference also explored the growing role of digital and genomic technologies in vector control, reflecting a shift towards more targeted, data-driven approaches to understanding and responding to mosquito populations.

The conference also celebrated the next generation of African vector-control scientists through the Young Investigator Awards, with KEMRI’s young scientists taking centre stage. Maureen Ekisa emerged as the overall winner, while Cyprian Adala received an Honorary Mention. Victoire Nsabatien, a PhD student at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK, received the First Mention.

The next PAMCA chapter scientific conference in 2027 is expected to be held in Ghana, with the event expected to take place in Kumasi.

But the challenge facing Africa extends beyond the next conference.

It is no longer simply about killing mosquitoes. It is about understanding an increasingly adaptable vector, anticipating its next move and developing tools and strategies capable of keeping pace with its evolution. The question now is whether Africa can move fast enough to stay ahead of the mosquitos.

The PAMCA Kenya Chapter is hosted at the KEMRI Headquarters.