My first Magazine project proposal (with format) | Page 19

The Ifakara Health Institute
The Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) is a leading research organisation in Africa, with strong track
records in developing, testing and validating innovations for health. It is among the five institutions
that constitute the Ifakara Cluster, which fosters collaboration in health research, training and
clinical practice in Tanzania.
The ongoing projects of the institute include:
The Mosquito City: The IFH provides facilities which mimic the natural ecosystem of mosquitoes
in disease endemic communities and are used for both research and training. They have contributed
immensely to our understanding of the ecology of malaria mosquitoes and have supported efforts in
evaluating new tools to combat the disease.
Chronic Diseases Care & Treatment Centre: The Chronic Disease Clinic Ifakara (CDCI) was
founded in 2005 as the first rural HIV care and treatment center in Tanzania. It aims to deliver high-
quality healthcare for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) according to the National AIDS
Control Programme.
Ifakara Laboratories: Ifakara laboratory supports laboratory based research activities at the
Ifakara branch and elsewhere. It provides laboratory based technical support to a number of projects
working on HIV, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Parasitology, TB Research and Public Health
Entomology.
Water Sanitation and Hygiene Program: The WaSH portfolio is hosted under Environmental
Health and Ecological Sciences (EHES) department, and works mainly on sanitation, water quality,
usage and management. It provides services regarding water safety testing and monitoring,
evaluation of decentralised water treatment systems, and capacity building for local scientists.
The Vector Sphere: The IHI VectorSphere is a dedicated laboratory for medical entomology
studies. It rears different species of malaria mosquitoes (Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles
gambiae), but also Aedes aegypti (which transmits multiple arboviruses like dengue and
chikungunya), for purposes of research and post-graduate training. It also has various facilities for
research on mosquito behaviours, physiology and ecology, including state-of-the art videography
equipment, digital microscopy and infra-red spectroscopy.
Source: ihi.or.tz/office-location/ifakara/ (accessed 5.1.2019)
19