“There’s a great need for open access data on drug-resistant malaria”: MARC SE-Africa webinar on harnessing malaria data for action
On 23 July 2025, malaria researchers and practitioners joined the MARC SE-Africa webinar to explore open-access tools developed by MARC SE-Africa and WWARN. These platforms aggregate malaria-related data and are freely available to support decision-making by national malaria control programme managers and other stakeholders. Two of these tools were presented in-depth: the MARC SE-Africa antimalarial resistance dashboard and the WWARN clinical trials publication library.
Dr Rhona Mijumbi from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme facilitated the meeting and started it by emphasising the role these tools play in making the shift from simply understanding antimalarial drug resistance to leveraging the collected data and translating it into policy and action.
Opening remarks were delivered by Dr Michael Kayange, a National Officer for Malaria at the World Health Organisation (WHO), who stressed the significant threat that drug-resistant malaria poses to global and regional malaria control efforts. He summarised current WHO recommendations for member states and affirmed that the WHO encourages regional networks such as MARC SE-Africa, as they play an essential role in facilitating data sharing and response.
Following the introductory statements, the focus shifted to examples of data tools that all those active in fighting malaria can use freely to inform their decision-making. First up was Dr Stephanie Van Wyk, a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town, who presented the MARC SE-Africa antimalarial resistance dashboard. She called for bridging the gaps between different disciplines and demonstrated how the dashboard integrates these different fields of knowledge.
When setting up the dashboard, the MARC SE-Africa team aimed to create a tool that would combine:
collated and curated data
easily understandable and accessible data
fast turnaround time and data sharing
The data now included in the dashboard covers Kelch13 markers, therapeutic efficacy studies’ outcomes, malaria cases and deaths, and malaria treatment guidelines for the 18 countries in Southern and East Africa that MARC SE-Africa covers. The dashboard was developed in collaboration with national malaria programme managers, academia, and malaria control stakeholders. Dr Van Wyk also demonstrated how the dashboard can be used to inform antimalarial action.
Dr Samuel Dhol, a Project Manager at the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN), shared another key digital tool for malaria practitioners, the WWARN clinical trials publication library. He explained how the need for open-access data on drug-resistant malaria is at the centre of different strategies and approaches to mitigating malaria, but collecting up-to-date information on clinical efficacy trials and molecular markers studies can be time-consuming and costly. Recognising this issue, WWARN has created several digital tools, including the WWARN clinical trials publication library and the WWARN molecular surveyors, ensuring that evidence is readily available to malaria researchers and national malaria control programmes.
The library is a comprehensive database of antimalarial efficacy trials conducted and published since 1946 and is updated twice a year. The open-access, downloadable Excel database is easily searchable, speeding up evidence identification and synthesis. Currently, the library includes more than 1600 studies conducted in 96 countries.
The WWARN Molecular surveyors are the Artemisinin molecular surveyor, ACT partner drug surveyor and Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) molecular surveyor. They are interactive geospatial databases that visualise data from publications examining the distribution of molecular markers for antimalarial resistance over time and space. They are updated quarterly via a scientifically rigorous process. Molecular data visualised in the surveyors is downloadable from each surveyor upon request.
The next webinar in the series will take place soon and cover the topic of “Unite for Action: The Critical Role of Pharmaceutical companies and regulators in Combating Antimalarial Drug Resistance.”
Further information will be shared on the project website – stay tuned!
