MARC SE Project

Gains achieved in reducing the burden of malaria and advancing its elimination are now threatened by the independent emergence and local spread of artemisinin-resistant parasites in East Africa. Protecting the efficacy of the current first-line malaria treatments, all of which are artemisinin-based, is now a top public health priority. 

The Mitigating Antimalarial Resistance Consortium in Southern and East Africa (MARC SE-Africa) responds to a growing crisis in malaria, one of the greatest infectious challenges facing Africa. Gains achieved in reducing the burden of malaria and advancing its elimination are now threatened by malaria parasites becoming resistant to the main group of drugs used to treat malaria, the artemisinins. 

Artemisinin-based combination treatments (ACTs) are the backbone of all currently recommended malaria treatments. The potential impact of widespread ACT resistance in Africa has been estimated at 16 million more malaria cases and nearly 80,000 additional malaria deaths annually. Protecting the efficacy of current first-line malaria treatments is now a top public health priority. 

Objectives 

The MARC SE-Africa consortium aims to better define the extent of antimalarial resistance in SE-Africa and to expedite the sharing of such evidence with National Malaria Programmes and their implementation partners. 

Specific objective: To promote the translation of evidence on artemisinin and other drug resistance of public health significance to inform better malaria policy and practice before drug resistance increases the number of malaria cases and deaths by offering technical support to the 19 countries of Southern and East Africa, the area historically first affected by drug resistance. 

Methodology (in simple terms) 

Study design: Multiple methods will be used in the project, including but not limited to social network analysis, landscape and gap analysis. 

Key MARC-SE activities 

• WP1: Network, Landscape and Gap Analysis 

• WP 2: Addressing Key Evidence Gaps 

• WP 3: Regional Detailed Action Plan to Respond to Antimalarial Resistance 

• WP 4: Implementation into Policy and Practice 

• WP 5: Project Management, Communication and General Dissemination 

 

Expected Outcomes / Deliverables 

Network analysis, resistance mapping and gap analysis, tools and resources, data platform, resistance prevalence map, regional detailed action plan, global assessment plan, etc. 

The role of Policy 

• Evidence reviews  

To produce trustworthy, accessible and dynamically updated recommendations, tools and resources to help disseminate 

malaria treatment guideline updates to health care workers at all levels, harmonised with malaria treatment policy change, 

to be adopted at a sub-national, national, cross-border or regional level, and demonstrate how the guidelines are used in these settings. 

 

• Social Network Analysis 

To understand how to engage with significant stakeholders in a way that can contribute to successful uptake of evidence on artemisinin and partner drug resistance, by identifying key stakeholders and understanding their connections or relationships and key points of action that may impact, positively, positively or otherwise, on efforts to mitigate the threat of artemisinin and partner drug resistance in the region. 

• Relevance to national/regional/global  

Partners & Stakeholders 

Key institutions, funders, collaborators, and beneficiaries. 

• University of Cape Town  

• Stichting Amsterdam Institute for 

• Karolinska Institutet  

• Stiftelsen magic evidence ecosystem 

• The chancellor, masters and scholars of the University of Oxford 

• University of Rwanda 

• LINQ management 

• Lstm Liverpool school of tropical medicine 

 

Timeline:       48 months 

Details of Project  

Research group and study PIs 

• University of Cape Town (UCT) Collaborating Centre for Optimising Antimalarial Therapy (CCOAT): Prof Karen I Barnes 

• Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group: Dr Donnie Mategule 

Policy leads (Names of lead and support team, and contact for lead) 

• The Policy Unit: Dr Rhona Mijumbi Deve Email: marcseafrica@uct.ac.za