Optimizing Malaria Control: Granular and Cost-Effective Mosquito Habitat Index in Endemic Areas Through Satellite Imagery

Abstract

Malaria, classified as a tropical disease under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicator 3.3, remains a significant global health challenge. In this study, by taking advantage of multiple spectral composite indexes of multisource satellite imagery to capture various geospatial features relevant to the suitability of marsh mosquito habitat, we introduced the Mosquito Habitat Suitability Index (MHSI) to assess potential Anopheles mosquito breeding sites in terms of the vegetation density, water bodies, environment temperature, and humidity in any particular areas. The MHSI integrates the publicly accessible granular level of the normalized difference vegetation index, water index, land surface temperature, and moisture index from cost-effective low and medium-resolution optical satellite data. We focus on West Papua Province, Indonesia, known for diverse ecological conditions and varying malaria prevalence, as a case study area. From the built index, the risk zone map is then formed with the K-Means algorithm. One key finding is the elevated risk in Fakfak Regency, demanding particular attention, as its high-risk area represents 45% of its total. This research aids localized decision-making to combat malaria's unique challenges in West Papua Province which are relevant for implementation in other regions, contributing to SDG-aligned interventions for malaria eradication by 2030.