# Target Malaria
**Target Malaria**, a nonprofit research consortium, works to create and make available affordable, lasting genetic tools for altering mosquitoes and lowering malaria transmission across sub-Saharan Africa, and states as its vision helping bring about a malaria-free world.[1](https://targetmalaria.org/) Its central strategy is population suppression: engineering mosquitoes that pass a population-reducing trait to their progeny in a self-sustaining way, so that the malaria mosquito population declines over time.[2](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Testing-pathway_FS_EN_Evaluating-our-gene-drive-technology_Feb-21.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Not-for-profit research consortium developing genetic technologies, including gene drive, to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission[1](https://targetmalaria.org/) |
| Countries | Field work in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Uganda; research partners in the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States[3](https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2024-08-20/la-ciencia-avanza-lentamente-en-la-revolucion-de-los-mosquitos-transgenicos-para-acabar-con-la-malaria.html) |
| Funding | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant INV-006610, "Target Malaria Phase II") and Open Philanthropy[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879) |
| Target species | Members of the *Anopheles gambiae* complex: *An. gambiae*, *An. coluzzii*, and *An. arabiensis*, the main malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa[5](https://targetmalaria.org/what-we-do/science/field-entomology/) |
| Key technology | CRISPR-based gene drive, which biases inheritance from a heterozygous parent to close to 100% instead of the Mendelian 50%[6](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5648257/) |
| 2025 field release | First small-scale release of non-gene-drive genetically modified male-bias mosquitoes on 11 August 2025 in Souroukoudingan, Burkina Faso[7](https://targetmalaria.org/virtual-press-room/press-releases/release-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-a-new-step-in-the-search-for-innovative-tools-to-combat-malaria-in-africa/) |
| 2025 suspension | Burkina Faso suspended all project activities on 18 August 2025 and ended them nationwide on 22 August 2025[8](https://targetmalaria.org/fr/latest/actus/les-activites-de-target-malaria-suspendues-au-burkina-faso/) |
## Goal and approach
The project aims to reduce the population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, reasoning that lowering mosquito numbers lowers disease transmission.[1](https://targetmalaria.org/) Conventional vector control tools, principally long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, and antimalarial drugs, are under pressure from drug and insecticide resistance, which is the stated rationale for exploring genetic approaches.[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227626003704)
Target Malaria pursues suppression rather than population modification. One strategy under development introduces a genetic modification that produces predominantly male offspring, causing population collapse; the consortium pairs such modifications with gene drive, DNA segments that propagate a new trait rapidly through a species or population, because without a drive a modification tends to disappear within a few generations.[3](https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2024-08-20/la-ciencia-avanza-lentamente-en-la-revolucion-de-los-mosquitos-transgenicos-para-acabar-con-la-malaria.html) The project's development pathway proceeds step by step, from laboratory strains to progressively less contained testing.[10](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Development-pathway_FS_EN_Target-Malarias-step-by-step-development-pathway_Jan23.pdf)
## Gene drive technology
A gene drive is any genetic element that biases its own inheritance among offspring, often strongly enough to increase in frequency even while imposing a fitness cost on the host.[11](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7776936/) The most advanced drives are CRISPR-based: they carry genes for a Cas9 nuclease and a guide RNA inserted within their own recognition site, so that expression in the germline cleaves the wild-type chromosome and homology-directed repair copies the drive onto it, a process called homing.[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879) CRISPR-based drives have shown inheritance rates from a heterozygous parent close to 100%, compared with the expected Mendelian 50%.[6](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5648257/)
Suppression drives target genes essential for female reproduction. A drive targeting the female-specific exon of the highly conserved *doublesex* gene in *Anopheles gambiae* achieved an inheritance bias of 100%, and female mosquitoes could not bite or lay eggs after about 10 generations.[12](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11785527/) [Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/laboratory) cage experiments with this design achieved complete population suppression without detectable resistance.[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879)
**Resistance is the main technical obstacle.** Mutations at the target locus can prevent cleavage by the drive; they may exist as standing variation or be induced when cleaved chromosomes are repaired by error-prone end-joining instead of homology-directed repair.[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879) Functional resistance alleles (R1) block homing at no fitness cost and can be positively selected, reversing drive spread, while non-functional alleles (R2) carry strong fitness costs and are a smaller barrier.[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879) Mitigation strategies include targeting highly constrained sites, targeting multiple sites so that a combined release reduces the impact of resistance to any one drive, and multiplexed drive architectures that actively remove resistant alleles; modeling predicts such designs could suppress large natural populations.[11](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7776936/) • [4](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879)
## Field entomology and engagement
Entomological studies are typically the first stage of in-country work, accompanied by stakeholder engagement with local communities at planned field sites.[5](https://targetmalaria.org/what-we-do/science/field-entomology/) Field teams collect regular data on mosquito abundance and species composition to build a picture of population size and dynamics at target sites over time, accounting for seasonal variation; these data feed regulatory submissions for environmental releases and support outreach and collaboration with local communities.[5](https://targetmalaria.org/what-we-do/science/field-entomology/)
## Governance and testing pathway
The project follows a phased testing pathway modeled on World Health Organization guidance for genetically modified mosquitoes; in May 2021 the WHO issued a guidance framework, developed with TDR and the GeneConvene Global Collaborative, setting standards on ethics, safety, affordability, and effectiveness for such research.[13](https://www.who.int/news/item/19-05-2021-who-issues-new-guidance-for-research-on-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-fight-malaria-and-other-vector-borne-diseases) A 2016 [National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-academies-of-sciences-engineering-and-medicine) report, *Gene Drives on the Horizon*, reviewed the science, ethics, public engagement, and risk assessment of gene drive research and concluded that gene-drive modified organisms are not ready to be released into the environment, recommending site selection in countries with existing scientific capacity and governance frameworks.[14](https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DELS-BLS-15-06/publication/23405) • [15](https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/gene-drive-modified-organisms-are-not-ready-to-be-released-into-environment-new-report) Target Malaria has stated that, even years from open releases of a gene-drive construct, it sought an independent quantitative risk assessment.[16](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/target-malaria-response-to-NAS-recommendations.pdf)
## Burkina Faso: authorization, release, and suspension
The Target Malaria Burkina Faso team, based at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), has operated since 2012 in compliance with national law.[8](https://targetmalaria.org/fr/latest/actus/les-activites-de-target-malaria-suspendues-au-burkina-faso/) In July 2025 the National Biosafety Agency (ANB) and the National Environmental Assessment Agency (ANEVE) responded favorably to a request for controlled releases of non-gene-drive genetically modified male-bias mosquitoes, and the Ethics Committee for Health Research (CERS) also approved; the communities of the field sites agreed to proceed.[8](https://targetmalaria.org/fr/latest/actus/les-activites-de-target-malaria-suspendues-au-burkina-faso/)
On 11 August 2025, IRSS released genetically modified male mosquitoes without gene drive in the village of Souroukoudingan, Karangasso Sambla department, Houet province, describing the step as a new stage in the search for innovative tools against malaria in Africa.[7](https://targetmalaria.org/virtual-press-room/press-releases/release-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-a-new-step-in-the-search-for-innovative-tools-to-combat-malaria-in-africa/) On 18 August 2025 national authorities asked the IRSS team to suspend all its activities, and the team complied; on 22 August the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and [Innovation](https://www.edgepedia.org/innovation) announced that all Target Malaria activities had ended across the national territory.[8](https://targetmalaria.org/fr/latest/actus/les-activites-de-target-malaria-suspendues-au-burkina-faso/) Nature Africa reported in September 2025 that the cancellation disrupted malaria research across Africa.[17](https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00286-z)
## References
1. [Home | Target Malaria](https://targetmalaria.org/)
2. [Evaluating our gene drive technology (fact sheet, Target Malaria)](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Testing-pathway_FS_EN_Evaluating-our-gene-drive-technology_Feb-21.pdf)
3. [La ciencia avanza, pese a la burocracia, en la revolución de los mosquitos transgénicos para acabar con la malaria, El País](https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2024-08-20/la-ciencia-avanza-lentamente-en-la-revolucion-de-los-mosquitos-transgenicos-para-acabar-con-la-malaria.html)
4. [Morianou et al. (2026). Engineering resilient gene drives for sustainable malaria control. PLOS Biology](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003879)
5. [Field entomology | Target Malaria](https://targetmalaria.org/what-we-do/science/field-entomology/)
6. [Hammond et al. (2017). The creation and selection of mutations resistant to a gene drive over multiple generations in the malaria mosquito. PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5648257/)
7. [Release of genetically modified mosquitoes: a new step in the search for innovative tools to combat malaria in Africa | Target Malaria](https://targetmalaria.org/virtual-press-room/press-releases/release-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-a-new-step-in-the-search-for-innovative-tools-to-combat-malaria-in-africa/)
8. [Les activités de Target Malaria suspendues au Burkina Faso | Target Malaria](https://targetmalaria.org/fr/latest/actus/les-activites-de-target-malaria-suspendues-au-burkina-faso/)
9. [CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive and conventional approaches for malaria control: A review. ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227626003704)
10. [Target Malaria's step-by-step development pathway (fact sheet)](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Development-pathway_FS_EN_Target-Malarias-step-by-step-development-pathway_Jan23.pdf)
11. [Nolan (2021). Control of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes using gene drives. PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7776936/)
12. [Gene drives: an alternative approach to malaria control? PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11785527/)
13. [WHO issues new guidance for research on genetically modified mosquitoes (19 May 2021)](https://www.who.int/news/item/19-05-2021-who-issues-new-guidance-for-research-on-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-fight-malaria-and-other-vector-borne-diseases)
14. [Gene Drives on the Horizon, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016)](https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DELS-BLS-15-06/publication/23405)
15. [Gene-Drive Modified Organisms Are Not Ready to Be Released Into Environment, National Academies news](https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/gene-drive-modified-organisms-are-not-ready-to-be-released-into-environment-new-report)
16. [Target Malaria's response to the NAS Recommendations](https://targetmalaria.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/target-malaria-response-to-NAS-recommendations.pdf)
17. [Mosquito gene drive cancellation disrupts Africa's malaria research, Nature Africa (2025)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00286-z)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Invertebrates › Arthropods › Insects › Flies › Nematoceran flies › Mosquito-borne disease and control › Biological and genetic mosquito control*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license