Citizen Action for Sustainable Dengue Control in Sub-Saharan Africa

Citizen Action for Sustainable Dengue Control in Sub-Saharan Africa

This project focuses on addressing arboviral outbreaks in Ivory Coast by involving local communities in the sustainable control of Aedes mosquitoes, utilizing scientific advice and environmental interventions. It will evaluate the impact of a participatory strategy on decreasing mosquito populations and the risk of virus transmission, aiming to provide insights for policy development on disease prevention.

This project targets the growing threat of Aedes mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue in Africa, focusing on the Anono and Gbagba communities in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, by transitioning from traditional control approaches to a community-driven strategy. It focuses on educating and involving communities in the design of sustainable mosquito management measures, such as breeding site eradication and adult mosquito capturing, with scientific experts guiding the efforts. The approach will entail conducting sociocultural surveys and interactive workshops while also encouraging local participation and multi-sectoral collaboration. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will test this effectiveness of this novel integrated community-based participatory intervention approach in reducing the transmission of Aedes mosquito and other arboviruses. This effort seeks to develop a scalable model for arboviral disease control, promote community resilience, and inform policy recommendations for better public health outcomes in resource-constrained urban settings.

Inclusion criteria:

1. Geographical location: households must be located within the designated clusters in the two districts involved in the trial.
2. Participation in cluster arms: households must belong to a cluster that is assigned to one of the four arms (1. Control, 2. Community-based larval source management, 3 Enhanced Aedes adults trapping (BG-GAT), 4. Enhanced Aedes adults trapping (BG-GAT) + Community-based larval source management).
3. Willingness to participate: households agreed to allow researchers to place mosquito traps and conduct larval and adult mosquito surveys.
4. Socio-Environmental Data: households must agree and provide consent to participate to the socio-environmental questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Outside of trial clusters: households located outside the designated clusters in the two districts were excluded.
2. Refusal to participate: households that do not consent to mosquito trap placement or surveys
3. Inaccessibility: households that are not accessible for regular visits or data collection (e.g., due to relocation or difficult terrain).