The Final Mosquito Hunt

How AI is helping Zanzibar achieve malaria elimination

Zanzibar has the digital backbone to become Africa’s first AI-powered malaria elimination success story. Dr. Innocent Nyalala, an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in Zanzibar, explains how this huge progress was possible.

Zanzibar is on the verge of eradicating malaria, with its prevalence now below one per cent. Artificial intelligence (AI) is contributing to the positive development. It has emerged here as a transformative technology that could deliver a final blow to the age-old disease. From AI-driven mosquito traps that identify species with 95 per cent accuracy to smartphone applications capable of detecting malaria parasites in blood samples, the innovative technology is revolutionising vector control in East Africa. Let me go into some more details to explain just how AI has an impact against mosquitoes in Zanzibar.

AI acts like a robot killer of the nasty malaria host in several ways:

Smart mosquito traps can photograph and identify mosquitoes and send alerts when dangerous species are detected.

AI apps could scan blood in seconds

Algorithms can warn: “High transmission risk expected in Shehia X next Tuesday due to rainfall patterns.”

The technology already exists: apps diagnose malaria in one second, and AI models can predict outbreaks using rainfall, temperature, and movement data. “AI-powered mosquito detection networks could transform surveillance,” says Mwinyi Khamis, a Community Health Officer at Zanzibar’s Malaria Elimination Programme.

Zanzibar leading the pack

“Zanzibar is well positioned to deploy AI against malaria”, sums up David Malone, Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle in the USA.

The Gates Foundation supports the AI-initiatives in Zanzibar. It has funded malaria control in Zanzibar since the early 2000s and has been very successful with that – contrary to what unfounded criticism may have claimed. Among other things, the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) in Zanzibar was established with an initial $50 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2005. Zanzibar reported 5,300 malaria cases in 2024 (5,020 in Unguja and 280 in Pemba); with that it still maintained a test positivity rate below one per cent. Significantly, 68 per cent (or two thirds) of these cases were imported from mainland Tanzania, indicating the low local transmission. Worldwide, there were 263 million malaria cases and 597,000 deaths worldwide in 2023, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2024 Malaria Report.

New nets for everybody

Another AI tool is used for Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN). The campaign was renewed in Zanzibar as “Usingizi Bul Bul” (Comfortable Sleep) in July 2023 by replacing old, already-treated nets with 782,000 new ones across Unguja and Pemba. A digital system tracked the distribution with a so-called “coconut surveillance app”, helping malaria officers investigate cases.

Smartphone applications can also detect malaria parasites in blood samples – allowing faster diagnosis in clinics and remote areas. How does that function?  The Android app “Malaria Screener” uses cameras to analyse blood smears for P. falciparum parasites (99% of Zanzibar’s mosquitoes are from this dangerous malaria strain). An AI-powered diagnostic system called AIDMAN achieves 98.44% diagnostic accuracy, matching that of trained microscopists. These tools process results in less than one second.

Hunting down every parasite

To eliminate the final one per cent of malaria prevalence in Zanzibar, Dr. Manoj Kumar’s team from IIT Madras, Zanzibar, has set out to develop dynamic assessment models. “AI can learn patterns humans miss,” explains the mathematician who is working on a model for malaria control in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. “By analysing malaria cases, weather data, travel patterns, and social media posts about illness, we can predict where the next case will appear.” Scientists here have recognised that eliminating the last malaria cases on the isles requires precision tools: “We’re not just fighting malaria anymore, we’re hunting down every parasite,” noted Dr. Kumar.

With Zanzibar’s existing digital health infrastructure, the island is uniquely positioned to become one of the first regions to achieve complete malaria elimination through intelligent technology. This shows that AI can have a real positive impact on a community.

Contact: Innocent Nyalala

e-mail: innocent@iitmz.ac.in