Co-Designing a Citizen Science Program for Malaria Control in Rwanda
by
Domina Asingizwe 1,2,*,†, Marilyn Milumbu Murindahabi 3,4,†, Constantianus J.M. Koenraadt 4, P. Marijn Poortvliet 2
, Arnold J.H. van Vliet 5, Chantal M. Ingabire 1, Emmanuel Hakizimana 6, Leon Mutesa 1, Willem Takken 4 and Cees Leeuwis 7
Domina Asingizwe 1,2,*,†, Marilyn Milumbu Murindahabi 3,4,†, Constantianus J.M. Koenraadt 4, P. Marijn Poortvliet 2, Arnold J.H. van Vliet 5, Chantal M. Ingabire 1, Emmanuel Hakizimana 6, Leon Mutesa 1, Willem Takken 4 and Cees Leeuwis 7
1
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali 3286, Rwanda
2
Strategic Communication group, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands
3
College of Sciences and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali 3900, Rwanda
4
Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
5
Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
6
Malaria and other Parasitic Diseases Division, Rwanda Biomedical Center, Kigali 7162, Rwanda
7
Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6700 EW Wageningen, the Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
The first authors.
Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7012; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247012
Received: 16 October 2019 / Revised: 25 November 2019 / Accepted: 28 November 2019 / Published: 9 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citizen Science and the Role in Sustainable Development)
Good health and human wellbeing is one of the sustainable development goals. To achieve this goal, many efforts are required to control infectious diseases including malaria which remains a major public health concern in Rwanda. Surveillance of mosquitoes is critical to control the disease, but surveillance rarely includes the participation of citizens. A citizen science approach (CSA) has been applied for mosquito surveillance in developed countries, but it is unknown whether it is feasible in rural African contexts. In this paper, the technical and social components of such a program are described. Participatory design workshops were conducted in Ruhuha, Rwanda. Community members can decide on the technical tools for collecting and reporting mosquito species, mosquito nuisance, and confirmed malaria cases. Community members set up a social structure to gather observations by nominating representatives to collect the reports and send them to the researchers. These results demonstrate that co-designing a citizen science program (CSP) with citizens allows for decision on what to use in reporting observations. The decisions that the citizens took demonstrated that they have context-specific knowledge and skills, and showed that implementing a CSP in a rural area is feasible.
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Keywords:
malaria; participatory design; co-creation; citizen science; surveillance
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MDPI and ACS Style
Asingizwe, D.; Milumbu Murindahabi, M.; Koenraadt, C.J.; Poortvliet, P.M.; van Vliet, A.J.; Ingabire, C.M.; Hakizimana, E.; Mutesa, L.; Takken, W.; Leeuwis, C. Co-Designing a Citizen Science Program for Malaria Control in Rwanda. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7012.
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