Ifakara Health Institute

Ifakara Health Institute GENERATING EVIDENCE. TRANSFORMING LIVES. Ifakara is one of Africa’s leading centers of public health research, training and services.

🔬 DIAGNOSTICS:Many HIV patients with TB still die before detecting it. WHY? ⚠️A new study in Tanzania 🇹🇿 and Mozambique ...
14/05/2026

🔬 DIAGNOSTICS:
Many HIV patients with TB still die before detecting it. WHY? ⚠️

A new study in Tanzania 🇹🇿 and Mozambique 🇲🇿 shows that expanding TB testing using urine, stool, and sputum samples did not significantly reduce deaths or speed up treatment among hospitalized people living with HIV.

Conducted as part of the EXULTANT trial 📊, the study involved over 1,100 patients 👥 across 11 hospitals 🏥 in the two countries.

🔬 Key insight: While stool- and urine-based TB tests are feasible in hospitals, many patients were still dying before treatment can make a difference.

📌 The findings underline the need for faster clinical decision-making, earlier treatment initiation 💊, and stronger integrated HIV/TB inpatient care 🏥🧬 — not just expanded testing alone.

👩🏾‍🔬👨🏾‍🔬 The study brought together researchers from Tanzania, Mozambique, and international partners 🌍, including scientists from the Ifakara Health Institute.

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1166/details/

:Strong presence in poster presentationsA key highlight of Ifakara Health Institute’s participation at was the strong...
13/05/2026

:
Strong presence in poster presentations

A key highlight of Ifakara Health Institute’s participation at was the strong showing by young scientists through poster presentations 👩🏾‍🔬👨🏾‍🔬, sharing research on the safety of HIV treatment during pregnancy for babies 👶🏾💊, as well as insights from the Sauti ya Vijana programme supporting young people living with HIV to improve mental health 🧠❤️, resilience 💪, and overall wellbeing 🌱.

We are here all week 📅 and look forward to continuing to connect 🤝, engage 💬, and share knowledge 📚 throughout the conference.

>> Read more: https://www.ihi.or.tz/our-events/1164/details/
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🚀 INNOVATION:AI can help to identify malaria mosquitoes fast🦟🤖In a study recently published, scientists at Ifakara Healt...
13/05/2026

🚀 INNOVATION:
AI can help to identify malaria mosquitoes fast🦟🤖

In a study recently published, scientists at Ifakara Health Institute and partners tested an AI-powered tool that could identify faster than before malaria mosquitoes and estimate their age — supporting future malaria control efforts.

The study used mid-infrared scanning + machine learning to analyze over 2,100 male mosquitoes from the Anopheles gambiae group.

🔬 Key findings:
📊Up to 86% species accuracy and 85% age estimation accuracy (lab conditions)
📊In semi-field settings, performance remained promising after transfer learning (73% species, 70% age)

💡 Why it matters: Accurate and rapid mosquito identification is essential for evaluating emerging malaria control strategies such as sterile insect techniques, gene drive technologies, and other male-release interventions. Faster tools could significantly strengthen field monitoring in endemic settings 🧪🌍.

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1165/details/

:Ifakara at a global research convening in DarIfakara Health Institute is proud to be participating in , the 20th Inte...
12/05/2026

:
Ifakara at a global research convening in Dar

Ifakara Health Institute is proud to be participating in , the 20th International Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis, and Prevention Research 🩺🔬 taking place from 12–15 May 2026 at the JNICC in Dar es Salaam.

👩🏾‍🔬👨🏾‍🔬 Our researchers and staff are contributing through poster presentations, scientific discussions, and engagements with partners and experts from across Africa 🌍 and beyond as we continue supporting evidence-driven solutions for HIV prevention, treatment, and care ❤️

Ifakara’s Director of Science, Dr Ally Olotu, delivered a session on eliminating malaria in Africa, highlighting key interventions, progress made across the continent, and emerging technologies such as vaccines 💉 in the fight against the disease.

🤝 The conference provides a valuable platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and advancing African-led research to improve public health outcomes across the continent.

>> Read more https://www.ihi.or.tz/our-events/
>>

✍️ REVIEW:Mosquito data gaps may limit what malaria trials can teach us 🦟🔬 Weaknesses in how mosquito data is measured a...
12/05/2026

✍️ REVIEW:
Mosquito data gaps may limit what malaria trials can teach us 🦟

🔬 Weaknesses in how mosquito data is measured and designed may limit what malaria vector-control trials can teach us.

Researchers from Ifakara Health Institute and UK partners are calling for stronger international standards in malaria vector-control research. 📊

📚 In a review recently published in the Malaria Journal, researchers analysed 62 malaria vector-control trials conducted between 1992 and 2021 and found substantial differences in how mosquito data is collected and measured in studies testing interventions such as bed nets, indoor spraying, and spatial repellents.

⚠️ The review found that while health outcomes like malaria infection are often measured using rigorous and standardized approaches, mosquito-related data is frequently collected using highly variable methods. In many studies, it was unclear how mosquito sample sizes were determined or how households for mosquito collection were selected.

They recommend:
✅ More consistent mosquito sampling approaches
🧪 Stronger entomological study design
📝 Clearer reporting of methods
📈 Better statistical and sampling planning

👩🏾‍ The research was led by Victoria Githu of Ifakara Health Institute, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Glasgow and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

📖 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1163/details/

💊 DRUG RESISTANCE:Concern over HIV treatment failure in young patients 👧🏾🧒🏽New research has revealed worrying levels of ...
11/05/2026

💊 DRUG RESISTANCE:
Concern over HIV treatment failure in young patients 👧🏾🧒🏽

New research has revealed worrying levels of HIV drug resistance among children and adolescents in Tanzania 🇹🇿 and Lesotho 🇱🇸 who are not responding well to treatment. 📉🦠

Conducted through the GIVE MOVE clinical trial 🧪, the study carried out between 2020-2023, found high levels of resistance-associated mutations to commonly used antiretroviral medicines among young patients experiencing treatment failure. 💉⚠️

🚨 Why does this matter? Drug resistance can make HIV medicines less effective, increasing the risk of illness and limiting treatment options for patients who depend on lifelong care.

Researchers are now calling for:
🔬 Routine viral load testing
🤝 Stronger treatment adherence support
⏱️ Timely treatment changes
—all essential steps to help protect children and adolescents living with HIV. 🩺🌍

The research involved a multi-country team of scientists from Switzerland 🇨🇭, Lesotho 🇱🇸, and Tanzania 🇹🇿 — including Ifakara Health Institute researchers Ezekiel Luoga, Dorcas Mnzava, Robert Ndege, and Maja Weisser. 👩🏾‍🔬🧑🏽‍🔬

Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/blog/news/hiv-study-raises-concern-over-drug-resistance-in-young-patients/

👥 MEETING:Partners align ahead of the Beginnings Fund launch 🇹🇿📅 On 23–24 April 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Wizara ya Afya Ta...
11/05/2026

👥 MEETING:
Partners align ahead of the Beginnings Fund launch 🇹🇿

📅 On 23–24 April 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Wizara ya Afya Tanzania and Ofisi ya Rais - Tamisemi , together with The Beginnings Fund Investment team and Ifakara Health Institute convened a two-day Partners Introduction Meeting to kickstart coordination for implementation of the Beginnings Fund Tanzania Mainland Investment Program.

The program is gaining momentum as a multi-country initiative focused on reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths and strengthening health systems across Africa, including Tanzania 🌍.

🤝 It brings together governments and partners to strengthen workforce capacity, scale evidence-based innovations, and support progress toward 2030 maternal and newborn health targets, with an estimated 51,334 lives expected to be saved. ✨

The meeting brought together over 40 participants and partners including the Wizara ya Afya Tanzania, Ofisi ya Rais - Tamisemi, The Beginnings Fund, Ifakara Health Institute, Medical Stores Department (MSD), Hydom Lutheran Hospital (Hydom), Foundation (BMF), Doris Mollel Foundation (DMF), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Muhimbili National Hospital , Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of Tanzania (AGOTA), Pediatric Association of Tanzania (PAT), Results for Development (R4D), InSupply Health, and Thamini Uhai. 💙

🔗 https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1161/details/
>>

🦟 MALARIA: Natural bacteria in mosquitoes may help curb the disease 🦠🚫🦟🔬 Scientists from Ifakara Health Institute have d...
08/05/2026

🦟 MALARIA:
Natural bacteria in mosquitoes may help curb the disease 🦠🚫

🦟🔬 Scientists from Ifakara Health Institute have discovered that wild malaria mosquitoes in southeastern Tanzania naturally carry Wolbachia — a bacterium being explored globally as a promising tool for controlling mosquito-borne diseases.

🧪📖 Published in the journal Parasites & Vectors, the study found high levels of Wolbachia infection (up to 70%) in Anopheles funestus, one of Tanzania’s main malaria-transmitting mosquitoes.

🦠 Researchers also observed very low malaria parasite prevalence among sampled mosquitoes, raising important questions about whether naturally occurring Wolbachia could help reduce malaria transmission in the wild.

The findings open new possibilities for future malaria-control strategies that are safer, sustainable, and biologically driven. 🌱🛡️✨

📖 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1159/details/

🚌 TOUR:Ifakara visits The Kids in Australia🌍 We, the Ifakara Health Institute, are thankful to have spent last week (28 ...
08/05/2026

🚌 TOUR:
Ifakara visits The Kids in Australia

🌍 We, the Ifakara Health Institute, are thankful to have spent last week (28 April to 1 May 2026) at The Kids Research Institute Australia 🇦🇺 for a strategic knowledge-sharing visit in Perth, organised by the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) 🔬. MAP is a single global team with staff based at both at The Kids (MAP Perth) and Ifakara (MAP Dar). 🇹🇿

The visit focused on strengthening existing ties and exploring opportunities for collaboration and shared learning. 🤝✨

We appreciate the warm welcome from the The Kids Research Institute Australia management and staff, and look forward to building on this momentum and deepening engagement moving forward. 🙏✨

>> https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1158/details/
>>

📅 :📢 Call for Abstracts - Your research deserves the spotlight!💡 Have groundbreaking research, innovative ideas, or com...
08/05/2026

📅 :
📢 Call for Abstracts - Your research deserves the spotlight!

💡 Have groundbreaking research, innovative ideas, or community health solutions to share? The 5th Annual Scientific Conference is now accepting abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations 📝

Researchers, practitioners, students, and health innovators are invited to contribute to conversations advancing SDG 3 and improving health outcomes in Tanzania and beyond 🌍

📝 Submit your abstract and be part of a platform driving collaboration, innovation, and real-world impact.

📍 Ifakara, Tanzania
📅 June 24–25, 2026
📅 Submission deadline: June 7, 2026.

🔗 More details and submission: https://surveyheart.com/form/6997495a2ac0ef04c54b47bf

🔗 Link: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1157/details/

>>

🧪 CONFERENCE:SFUCHAS, Ifakara to host scientific conference next month 📅 🌍This is where research meets impact. Health re...
08/05/2026

🧪 CONFERENCE:
SFUCHAS, Ifakara to host scientific conference next month 📅

🌍This is where research meets impact. Health research, innovation, and collaboration come together at the 5th SFUCHAS Annual Scientific Conference, slated for June 24–25, 2026 in Ifakara, Tanzania 🇹🇿

Hosted by in collaboration with the Ifakara Health Institute, this year’s conference will explore how research, technology, and community-based solutions can drive progress toward SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.

🎯 Theme: Generating Impact for SDG3: Intersecting Research, Technology, and Community-Based Health Solutions

Join researchers, practitioners, innovators, and changemakers for two days of scientific exchange, networking, and impactful discussions shaping the future of health.

🔗 Link: https://ihi.or.tz/our-events/1157/details/

>>

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