Drones and AI-enabled tech lead fight against malaria in Ghana

Malaria remains a deadly global threat, with Africa bearing the brunt of cases and deaths.

More than 600,000 malaria deaths occur annually on the continent, and most are children under five years of age.

This disease burden also presents an economic and strategic challenge - up to $16 billion in GDP is lost each year, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

RELATED: Scientists in SA targeting the ELIMINATION of malaria (not of mozzies!)

Now Japanese startup Sora Technology is reporting success with its technology-driven malaria control approach in pilot trials in Ghana.

Larval Source Management or LSM focuses on controlling water bodies where mosquito larvae develop, and is recognised as one of the effective malaria control measures.

However, conventional LSM approaches rely heavily on manual labor, making it difficult to implement them continuously and at scale across wide geographic areas.

Sora says its AI-enabled approach targeting mosquito breeding sites can achieve a level of effectiveness comparable to that of conventional methods, while significantly reducing the required human resources and the volume of larvicides used.

Africa business specialist Rutendo Hwindingwi reports that Sora has raised around $4.8 million through African sovereign wealth and investments for this work.

"In Ghana they have reported a 70% decrease in the use of pesticides - which is great from a climate perspective, 40% savings on preventative costs and a 50% decrease in labour costs."

Sora's LSM operational model includes:

• High-resolution aerial imaging using drones
• Efficient detection of water bodies supported by AI
• Automated identification by AI of water bodies with a high risk of mosquito larval breeding
• Guidance of on-site spraying personnel based on the geospatial data obtained through the above processes
• Comparative evaluation of working time, costs, and operational efficiency based on field demonstrations

At a recent workshop on technology-enabled LSM for malaria elimination in the African region, Ghana's Health Ministry said the use of advanced technologies had become crucial to complement traditional control intervention, following confirmation of the Anopheles stephensi mosquito in the country in 2023.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to Africa Business Focus (malaria discussion at 3:30)