About Us

Our mission is to reduce the impact of vector-borne diseases and contribute to their eventual elimination by improving the product development landscape for vector control tools, supporting enhanced evaluation processes, facilitating sustained quality of vector control products and improving their judicious and safe use with a focus on shortening time to market.

Our vision is a development environment for vector control products conducive to dialogue, innovation and investment and which efficiently delivers a steady stream of new, quality tools to those who need them most, and safeguards their continued effectiveness.

IRS spray operator carrying out house spraying during IRS spray campaign, Ethiopia, 2014

IRS spray operator carrying out house spraying during IRS spray campaign, Ethiopia, 2014. Credit: Brant Stewart, RTI, PMI, 2014

Rationale

Approximately 80% of the global population is at risk from vector-borne disease leading to over 700,000 deaths annually, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. Vector borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever and Zika and chikungunya pose a huge threat to the world, affecting not only health outcomes, but also serve to slow economic growth and put additional strain public health systems.

Scale up of vector control tools such as ITNs and IRS have played a pivotal role in reducing the mortality and morbidity rates associated with many vector-borne diseases. However, progress is threatened primarily due to insecticide resistance and the need for more effective tools against outdoor and day biting vectors. New tools are rapidly needed to allow countries to maintain an effective portfolio of vector control tools to ensure effective coverage of their populations.

Net Distribution In Mwanza, Tanzania 2016

Net Distribution In Mwanza, Tanzania, Riccardo Gangale/VectorWorks, Courtesy of Photoshare, 2016

Approach

I2I’s work focuses on four overarching objectives:

  • Innovation: Creating a more conducive environment for innovation and product development;
  • Efficiency: Improving evaluation pathways to allow streamlined data generation to accelerate registration and uptake of new tools;
  • Quality: Developing rigorous quality assurance systems to ensure the lasting impact of new products;
  • Dialogue: Improving dissemination and understanding of WHO pre-qualification processes with vector control stakeholders;

I2I convenes vector control stakeholders such as global and country policy makers, product developers, donors, regulators, academia and programme implementers to streamline the evaluation and registration of new vector control tools.

IRS spray operator with family during IRS campaign, Rwanda, 2014

IRS spray operator with family during IRS campaign, Rwanda, Brant Stewart, RTI, PMI, 2014

Areas of Involvement

I2I Team

Angus Spiers

Director

Angus Spiers

Arianna Braccioni

Programme Manager

Arianna Braccioni

Robert Sloss

Industry Group Chair

Robert Sloss

Rosemary Lees

Methods Validation Lead

Rosemary Lees

Giorgio Praulins

Research Assistant

Giorgio Praulins

Charlotte Blakeburn

Programme Coordinator

Charlotte Blakeburn

Kirsten Duda

Communications Officer

Kirsten Duda

Frank Mechan

Post-Doctoral Research Associate

Frank Mechan

Annabel Murphy-Fegan

Research Assistant

Annabel Murphy-Fegan

Caroline Barwa

Technical Programme Manager

Caroline Barwa

Julie-Anne Tangena

Technical Program Manager

Julie-Anne Tangena

Stakeholders

I2I works with numerous organisations and stakeholders to promote product innovation, efficiency, quality, and dialogue within the landscape of available vector control tools.

I2I Stakeholders
Conference room with blue carpet and 27 people sitting at three tables positioned in a horseshoe around a presentation on a projector screen that displaying a blue and white image that says 'Welcome' and 'Bienvenue' and has the I2I and WHO logos

I2I Convening