Create legal path for gene drive mosquitoes, experts say

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Create legal path for gene drive mosquitoes, experts say

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Samwel Doe Ouma,  The Star,  2025.

As Africa continues to shoulder the global burden of malaria, scientists and policy experts say gene drive technology could offer a groundbreaking solution. But without clear regulatory frameworks and strong community engagement, its deployment could be delayed, risking further loss of life and economic productivity. During the Evidence for Development (EVI4DEV) Conference in Nairobi, hosted by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA), and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), experts called for urgent policy harmonisation and public dialogue to enable the safe rollout of gene drive technology.

“Malaria is an African problem, we need to find our own tools to address malaria problems,” said Dr Barbara Glover from AUDA-NEPAD, South Africa. “Africa should be able to innovate new technologies and solutions for African problems.” Gene drive technology targets malaria-transmitting mosquitoes by altering their genetic makeup, specifically the Anopheles gambiae species, to pass on traits such as infertility, reducing mosquito populations over time. The approach, being developed under the Target Malaria consortium, has shown promise in laboratory settings but has not yet been tested in the field. “Gene drives systems promote the biased inheritance of specific genes from one generation to the next,” explained Dr Wiltshire Johnson of AUDA-NEPAD. “Gene drive is deployed when a causal pathway initiated by release of a gene drive system in target mosquito vector species, leading to its transmission to subsequent generations, its increase in frequency and spread in target mosquito populations, its simultaneous propagation of a linked genetic trait aimed at reducing vectorial capacity of plasmodium and reduced vectorial capacity for parasites in target mosquito populations resulting in decreased malaria incidence and prevalence.” Johnson emphasised the urgency of adopting innovative tools amid increasing resistance to existing malaria interventions such as insecticides and drug treatments. “Malaria still kills 600,000 people, causes reduction of 25 percent GDP in Africa countries,” he said. “Even with existing traditional Malaria control tools starting to fail or are showing signs of failure… the deployment and use of gene drive technology will help in solving the malaria problem.”