Malaria and water management

Malaria and water management

Most malaria research untill the 1990s had focused on preventing the disease through the use of chemical pesticides or the development of pharmaceuticals. The water management angle–as the cause and potential remedy to the situation–received little attention. Malaria outbreaks often follow development of new areas for irrigated agriculture. Mosquito breeding sites in irrigated areas include canals, hydraulic structures, seepage pools, rice fields and borrow pits. Public health care facilities are often constructed later than irrigation schemes, leaving people more vulnerable. At the same time, mosquitoes are becoming more resistant to pesticides and many drugs are losing their effectiveness against the malaria parasite. It is vital to gain a better understanding of the influence that irrigation and agricultural activities have on the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases, such as Japanese encephalitis and filariasis, especially as developing countries extend their irrigated areas to feed rapidly growing populations. Therefore, improving the management of agroecosystems and developing water management-based interventions are becoming increasingly important alternatives. Key research questions What are the links between malaria and water management in agriculture? How can irrigation management help control mosquito breeding? What practices could help small farmers reduce malaria? Will reducing the salinity of soil and water through improved drainage cause a resurgence of malaria in irrigated arid and semiarid areas? IWMI researchers played a crucial role in the development of SIMA, the CGIAR Future Harvest System-wide Initiative on Malaria and Agriculture.