Harnessing digital tools for the management of large-scale larviciding operations: a pilot of the ZzappMalaria software system in Obuasi, Ghana

Larval source management (LSM) has played a critical role in historical malaria elimination endeavors, yet its application in tropical settings has been hampered by operational hurdles and limited effectiveness. To address these issues, ZzappMalaria Ltd. developed a digital platform for the planning and implementation of LSM campaigns, the features and field efficacy of which are discussed in this paper. Piloted in collaboration with AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Ltd. (AGAMal) in Obuasi, Ghana, the system, comprising a planning tool, a mobile app for fieldworkers and an online dashboard for monitoring and worker management, facilitated the detection of more than 4,000 water bodies and reduced the mosquito population by 62% for a cost of $0.24 per person protected (PPP). The data available does not provide sufficient evidence to conclusively determine whether a reduction in malaria cases occurred; nevertheless, the results underscore the potential of digitization to surmount the operational challenges of large-scale LSM campaigns. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The operation was funded by ZzappMalaria Ltd. and AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Ltd. (AGAMal) ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was a collaboration between Zzapp Malaria Ltd. and AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Ltd. (AGAMal), and evaluated data collected by AGAMal who received an ethical approval from the Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee to perform malaria control interventions in the applicable area and collect and analyze relevant data. In addition, this was an operational study and did not involve collection of subject related data. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors