From 10–11 June 2026, the Ifakara Health Institute hosted the first in-person meeting of VectorGrid-Africa, bringing together partners to define the operational roadmap for a coordinated mosquito and mosquito-borne disease surveillance network across Africa.

The meeting marked an important step in translating the observatory’s design into field-ready implementation. Discussions focused on harmonising mosquito collection approaches across countries, standardising laboratory processing protocols, and integrating entomological, environmental, climate, genomic and One Health data streams into a shared surveillance framework.

A key outcome of the meeting was agreement on coordination mechanisms to align field activities across participating countries. Partners also discussed structured data-sharing systems to support timely access to surveillance outputs, as well as approaches to strengthen interoperability between laboratories, field sites, and data platforms. These systems are intended to ensure consistency, comparability and quality across the network.

Funded by the European Union through the HORIZON/EDCTP programme, the current Phase I of VectorGrid-Africa is a five-year initiative designed to establish the foundational network of permanent observatory nodes for long-term, high-quality surveillance of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. The program is scientifically led by Ifakara Health Institute,  coordinated by the University of Glasgow, and implemented in partnership with Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Wits Health Consortium/University of the Witwatersrand, Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça/Fundação Manhiça and the University of Eduardo Mondlane, Kenya Medical Research Institute, University of Nairobi, Technical University of Kenya, Wellcome Sanger Institute, and associated strategic partners, including Biogents AG.

The network will initially operate in Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Madagascar, representing diverse climatic, ecological and epidemiological settings. By generating standardised, locally owned and locally analysed data, VectorGrid-Africa aims to strengthen national and regional capacity to detect emerging vector-borne disease threats, monitor invasive mosquito species and insecticide resistance, guide targeted vector control strategies, and support timely, evidence-based public health responses.

Through this coordinated platform, VectorGrid-Africa is laying the foundation for a scalable continental surveillance system to improve preparedness for current and future mosquito-borne disease risks across Africa.