GLOBE News
Countries in Asia and Pacific Region Begin Conducting CMTs for GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Project
This summer, countries in the Asia and Pacific region – including India, Marshall Islands, Nepal, Palau, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines – are conducting Country Mosquito Trainings (CMTs) as part of the GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention project.
This cutting-edge project is enlisting citizen scientists in 22 Zika-affected countries in three GLOBE regions (and beyond, as the project progresses) in the collection of data on mosquitoes for a global mapping project. Data collection on this scale will provide the information needed to help international scientists predict new outbreaks. The project, funded through support from the U.S. Department of State, is encouraging STEM studies and building networks with public health officials to better control mosquitoes and reduce mosquito-borne infectious disease.
Earlier this year, in order to launch this endeavor, participants from more than 45 countries attended Regional Mosquito Trainings (RMTs). The RMTs provided participants with hands‑on training covering which types of mosquitoes are breeding in their communities; how to collect larvae samples safely; how to upload photos/data into the global map tracker; and ways to eliminate breeding places. Using a “train-the-trainer” approach, those trained at RMTs are now conducting CMTs in order to expand the number of citizen scientists involved in the project; citizen scientists who will, in turn, conduct Local Mosquito Workshops (LMWs).
The first CMT was conducted in Nepal, on 07 June. Eighteen people participated in the training, which was held in Jwagal, Kathmandu. GLOBE Nepal also organized a second training, which was held at the Dhulabari Higher Secondary School in Jhapa on 24 July. Twenty-five people participated in this training. The Nepal Country Coordinator, Yogendra Chitrakar, along with Upama Rai Tamla, conducted the trainings.
“With growing temperature and changing climate, mosquitoes have adapted in places where they struggled to survive before,” Chitrakar said. “Moreover, the grave threat of ZIKA is not yet fully discovered by people here. Thus, with this training, we aim to create conscious group of trainers who can further spread the message for hazard prevention as well as the need for its scientific study of mosquitoes at local level.”
“I think GLOBE is a wonderful learning platform,” Rupa, an undergraduate student in environmental science who participated in the training, said. “I especially liked the quiz session and the fact that the training had technical sessions with use of lens for larva study.
The Philippines has two CTMs scheduled, one in August (18-19) at the Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, and one in October (04-05) in Palawan City.
To learn more about this critical project, click here.
type: globe-news
News origin: GLOBE Implementation Office