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South African Malaria Initiative (SAMI)

Malaria remains the world's most devastating tropical infectious disease with as many as 40% of the world population living in risk areas. In South Africa, is it estimated that 10% of the population lives in areas at risk of malaria transmission, and it is projected that this may quadruple by 2020 due to climate change. Malaria is responsible for between 2 and 3 million deaths annually, with 90% of these occurring in Africa. Furthermore, it is estimated that there are over 500 million clinical cases of malaria annually, over 60% of which occur on the African continent. This has a devastating impact on the economy of the continent through loss of productivity caused by absenteeism, as well as through discouragement of investment.
The fight against malaria requires a variety of intervention tools. Because the disease is spread by mosquitoes, certain intervention tools are required at this level. The goal of intervention at this level is to stop the disease from being spread to humans, by preventing mosquito bites, which is mainly achieved through the use of insecticides. The next level of prevention would be vaccination to prevent transmission of malaria to humans, but there is currently no vaccine available for malaria, although there are various efforts worldwide to develop vaccines. Once the parasite has been spread to humans, it is then necessary to detect the parasites in humans in order to dispense appropriate treatment and, of course, doctors and nurses need to have appropriate treatment at their disposal. The widespread resistance of Plasmodium parasites to the cost-effective chloroquine and antifolates has forced the introduction of more costly drug combinations, such as Coartem®.
The South African Malaria Initiative (SAMI) is a consortium established to facilitate the integration of malaria research and related capacity development in South Africa and the rest of the African continent. The main objective is to create a collaborative platform for Africans to contribute to the development of solutions to a disease that is crippling the economy of the African continent.
SAMI was established in 2006, through the signing of a consortium agreement by South African universities and science councils engaged in malaria research. The consortium received seed funding for two-and-a-half years from the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) in 2006 to establish the research programmes, which were initiated in 2007. SAMI was initially hosted by the University of Pretoria, but moved to BioPAD in January 2008.  Further funding was awarded to SAMI by the DST in January 2008.

SAMI has established three research programmes:

• Drug Discovery, which is aimed at developing affordable malaria drugs.
• Diagnostics Development, to develop novel methods of parasite detection and drug resistance surveillance protocols; and
• Vector-Parasite Biology, which aims to investigate the interaction of the parasite with the mosquito vector and non-vectors. The programme also aims to develop novel, environmentally friendly methods of vector control.

Click here to visit the SAMI website for further information ( http://www.sami.org.za). Enquiries may be directed to the Programme Manager, Zoleka Ngcete at zoleka@biopad.org.za.