Harnessing drones and AI to combat malaria in Ghana

Pilot study evaluates innovative technologies for vector control in hard-to-reach settings

June 30, 2026

UNDP Ghana_Drone.jpg — Drone in action, spraying mosquito breeding grounds to reduce malaria transmission.

Photos: @Ernestina Ocansey/UNDP Ghana

Malaria remains one of the most persistent public health challenges globally. According to the World Health Organization, the disease affects hundreds of millions of people each year, with Africa bearing the highest burden and children under five accounting for most deaths. Despite sustained progress in prevention and treatment, transmission remains intense in many endemic settings.

In Ghana in 2025, malaria accounted for 18.3 percent of outpatient visits and 14.3 percent of inpatient admissions. While interventions have reduced severity in some areas, transmission persists in communities where environmental conditions strongly support mosquito breeding.

One such setting is Ada East in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region, where wetlands, lagoons, rice fields and coastal water systems create ideal conditions for mosquito proliferation, particularly during the rainy season. In these landscapes, malaria control is not only a medical challenge but also an operational one.

A key strategy in malaria prevention is larval source management (LSM), which targets mosquito aquatic habitats before larvae mature into adult vectors. While effective, health workers say LSM is labour-intensive in such environments. In some areas, covering just one kilometre of mosquito aquatic habitats using conventional methods can take up to 10 days with two workers.

To overcome these operational challenges, Ghana’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) has launched a pilot study in Ada East to assess whether drones and artificial intelligence (AI) can facilitate LSM. The study is being implemented with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Access and Delivery Partnership programme, SORA Technology and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), and is funded by the Government of Japan.

The approach combines aerial mapping, AI-assisted identification of mosquito aquatic habitats, and drone-based larvicide spraying. The drones can carry large volumes of larvicide and treat mapped sites in under an hour — a task that would take field workers several days using conventional methods.

The technology for the study is being provided by SORA Technology, a Japanese start-up specializing in the use of drones, artificial intelligence and digital technologies to strengthen disease surveillance and vector control. The company has supported malaria control initiatives in several countries and is working with partners to assess how these tools can be adapted for use within national health programmes.

A unique feature of the pilot is the integration of the Zzapp digital platform, which will be used to support field operations and monitoring. As the first deployment of the platform within a SORA Technology malaria vector control initiative, it will provide additional insights into how digital tools can support implementation, coordination and programme monitoring.

The study builds on lessons from an earlier pilot in Ghana, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, that demonstrated the potential of drone technology for mapping mosquito aquatic habitats during the dry season. One of the key recommendations from that work was to further assess the technology during the rainy season, when breeding conditions are more dynamic and operational challenges are greater.

“The pilot will generate evidence on how innovative technologies can be translated into practical solutions that strengthen health systems and improve malaria prevention,” said Belynda Amankwa, Programme Specialist at UNDP Ghana. “The findings will help inform how these approaches can be applied in real-world settings and whether they can help countries better protect vulnerable communities.”

The study was officially launched on 1 June 2026 through a joint technical mission involving representatives from NMEP, UNDP, SORA Technology, TDR and the Embassy of Japan in Ghana. The mission included site visits, engagement with local authorities and demonstrations of the technologies that will be used during the pilot. Initial mapping activities also commenced during the visit.

“This pilot is exciting for us because it offers an opportunity to address some of the operational challenges we face in routine LSM,” said Christian Atta-Obeng, Medical Entomologist at NMEP. “The vast wetlands in Ada East are highly productive breeding grounds for Anopheles mosquitoes but locating and assessing breeding sites across these environments can be challenging using conventional approaches.”

According to Gildas Yahouedo, Medical Entomologist at TDR, the study is not only assessing the technology itself but also how drone-enabled vector control could be integrated into routine public health programmes.

“Implementation research is about understanding how proven interventions are translated into practice,” he said. “In this case, the goal is to ensure that drone-enabled vector control becomes a practical public health tool by assessing feasibility, community perception, acceptability and cost-effectiveness to support sustainable use.”

The study area in in Ada East has been divided into zones, with one section using conventional manual spraying and another using drone-assisted spraying. This allows researchers to compare efficiency, cost and coverage between the two approaches.

“One of the biggest challenges in larval source management is identifying and reaching mosquito aquatic habitats quickly and accurately, especially in environments that are difficult to access,” said Mary Yeboah Asantewaa, Head of Africa Business at SORA Technology. “This study will help us understand how these technologies perform under targeted conditions and how they can complement existing malaria control efforts.”

The Embassy of Japan in Ghana highlighted how partnerships can help translate innovation into practical solutions for public health challenges.

“This is a good example of cooperation between government, development partners and the private sector,” said Izumi Kume, Coordinator for Economic Cooperation at the Embassy of Japan in Ghana. “Drone technology can help reach areas that are difficult to access, and we hope this will support efforts to reduce malaria in affected communities.”

By generating evidence on the feasibility, efficiency and operational requirements of drone- and AI-enabled vector control, the study will help inform future decisions on how these technologies can complement existing malaria prevention efforts in Ghana and other malaria-endemic settings.

Technology is helping reach breeding sites in wetlands, lagoons, and rice fields that are difficult to access with traditional larval source management.