Study Sites
the EMERGENTS ICEMR is situated at the intersection of West and Central Africa, focused on two countries with differential malaria transmission intensities and disease risk. Nigeria is considered holoendemic for malaria; however, « endemicity » is heterogeneous across the various ecological zones of the country, complicating malaria control efforts. Whereas in Cameroon, malaria transmission is heterogeneous across the country, ranging from perennial transmission in the southern forested regions to seasonal and unstable transmission in the northern Soudano-savannah as well as Sahelian regions.
In Nigeria, activities of the EMERGENTS ICEMR focuses on 3 main sites, Cottage, Asubiaro, and Ikorodu. In Cameroon, activities of EMERGENTS ICEMR focuses in Douala and Yaoundé, the two most important cities in the country and where malaria transmission is holoendemic and perennial. The project will also be implemented at the community level in Olama, a rural area located 50km from Yaoundé in the Centre region. In the location, secondary vectors such as An. moucheti are more abundant that main malaria vectors (An. gambiae sl and An. funestus).
In Nigeria, activities of the EMERGENTS ICEMR are implemented in 3 health facilities located in Lagos (1 clinic) and Osun (2 clinics) states. Lagos State: Lagos State is a densely populated coastal metropolis with an estimated population of over 21 million people, serving as a sentinel site for the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) drug efficacy studies in Nigeria. Malaria remains a significant public health concern, but Lagos has made remarkable progress in controlling the disease – with a reported prevalence of 1.3 % in early 2025, placing the state on track for malaria pre-elimination as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, malaria still accounts for a large share of febrile illnesses seen in facilities and the recent report of Plasmodium vivax detection in Lagos highlights ongoing surveillance needs even as overall transmission declines. Osun State: Osun State has an estimated population of approximately 5 million people, making it one of the smaller states in Nigeria. The state spans two ecological zones, with Nigeria’s lowland forests in the south and the drier Guinean forest, and is characterized by an extensive network of rivers that bisect the state internally. Malaria remains highly endemic, with 577,036 febrile cases reported in 2022 (WHO), of which approximately 75% tested positive for malaria.
In Cameroon, activities of EMERGENTS ICEMR focuses in Douala and Yaoundé, the two most important cities in the country and where malaria transmission is holoendemic and perennial. Douala, along the coast, is in the forest ecological zone of Cameroon, where malaria transmission is holoendemic and perennial. This ecological zone has diverse interspersed ecosystems, i.e., a humid savannah, with a humid climate and heavy rainfall (between 1500 and 5000 mm3 each year) during the rainy season. Yaoundé is the political capital of Cameroon. It is located 250 km inland, east of Douala, and is the second largest city with a population close to 2.5 million. Yaoundé is laid out concentrically with the center containing most administrative and commercial facilities. It is surrounded by a patchwork of native districts that maintain strong social and cultural identities. The climate is sub‐equatorial Guinean (mean annual rainfall and temperature of 1600 mm and 25°C, respectively). There are two distinct rainy seasons, one extending from March to June and another from September to November
The project will also be implemented at the community level in Olama, a rural area located 65km from Yaoundé in the Centre region. This location displays high and perennial malaria transmission patterns. It is located within the Congo-Guinean phytogeographic zone, characterized by a typical equatorial climate with two rainy seasons extending from March to June and September to November. Mean annual rainfall ranges between 1600–1800 mm. Here, secondary vectors such as An. moucheti are more abundant that main malaria vectors (An. gambiae sl and An. funestus).
View Associated Sites for the Emergents ICEMR in Nigeria and Cameroon in a larger map