Building Out Vector-Borne Diseases In Sub Saharan Africa (Bova): Environmental Management Of Housing And Infrastructure-Related Disease In The Lake Victoria Region

Vector control is the primary method by which malaria and other vector-borne diseases (VBD) are controlled in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). 1'2 With the spread of insecticide resistance,3 the need for non-chemical and inter-sectoral approaches to V BD control is widely recognised.24 However, improvements to the built environment, traditionally a core pillar of public health, remain underexploited in VBD control. There is growing evidence that improving the built environment can be protective against VBDs. In particular, screening houses can be a powerful means to lower transmission of malaria and Aedes-borne diseases, for which the home is often a place of high transmission risk. Over 80% of malaria transmission by the night-biting mosquito Anopheles gambiae can occur indoors,8 whereas transmission of Aedes-borne viruses by the day-biting Aedes aegypti is focused around the home, school or place of work where the aquatic habitats of this vector.Leveraging this revolution in rural and urban development should be considered an exceptional opportunity to exert a powerful, continent-wide impact on V BD control. This aspiration also aligns with the World Health Organization's (WHO) draft Global Vector Control Response, at the core of which is inter-sectoral collaboration and the use of interventions outside the health sector, such as improved housing.