Third Edition of the Course "Science of Eradication: Malaria"

This week saw the start of the third edition of "Science of Eradication: Malaria", a course organised annually by three institutions with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in malaria: ISGlobal, Harvard University and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. Leading malaria researchers, officials from malaria programmes and health ministries across the globe, and representatives of universities and international organisations will convene in Basel (Switzerland) between 1 and 9 June to discuss every aspect of malaria elimination and eradication. Fifty-five people were selected to participate in the course from more than 140 nominees.

ISGlobal director Pedro Alonso delivered the inaugural address in memory of Dr Ned Hayes on Sunday, 1 June. The core module, which will run from Monday, 2 June to Friday, 6 June, will explore malaria eradication from multiple perspectives, including public health, medicine and basic parasite biology. It will also cover aspects such as past disease eradication efforts, the economics of malaria, environmental factors, and the strategies and tools needed to completely eliminate malaria worldwide. The advanced module, on managing the end of malaria, will run from 7 to 9 June. This module will include various case studies as well as discussions on topics such as managing interventions, defining and selecting projects, options for financing, industry involvement, and stakeholder accountability.

Participants will acquire the knowledge and skills they need to develop and direct malaria elimination programmes and to contribute to the knowledge needed to end the disease. The first two editions were held in Boston and Barcelona, respectively; in 2015, the course will once again be hosted by Harvard University in Boston.