ITM Alumni Webinar World Malaria Day 2026
World Malaria Day is an occasion to share insights and research findings on malaria-related research, highlighting the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention, treatment and controI.
World Malaria Day offers an opportunity to reflect on why malaria remains a major global health challenge despite decades of investment and intervention scale-up.
In this webinar, ITM PhD alumnus Kombate Gountante will present evidence from recent research examining why current strategies are not always sufficient and how malaria control efforts can be made more effective. Drawing on findings from a meta-analysis of integrated vector management (IVM) approaches, the session will highlight how combining multiple interventions can significantly reduce malaria risk compared to single strategies. Using country-level evidence from Togo, the presentation will further explore the importance of identifying malaria hotspots to guide targeted investments, as well as the role of social, environmental, and health system factors in shaping malaria risk and care-seeking behavior.
The webinar will emphasize key policy messages: the need to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches, prioritize high-risk populations and areas, strengthen community health systems, and address underlying inequalities. Finally, it will discuss the future of malaria control through layered interventions, including the integration of new tools such as malaria vaccines with existing strategies.
The Q&A-session will be moderated by Soledad Colombe, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist at the ITM Public Health Department.
Speaker: Kombate Gountante, Malaria Epidemiologist and Public Health Researcher, Burkina Faso
Moderator: Soledad Colombe, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, Unit of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Public Health department, ITM, Antwerp, Belgium
