The collaboration is designed to combine SORA Technology’s AI-driven geospatial intelligence, drone-based environmental mapping, satellite data analytics, targeted larvicide deployment support, and digital operational platforms with MEI’s expertise in rigorous evaluation methods, including the Comprehensive Larviciding Evaluation and Assessment Framework (CLEAR). Together, these capabilities aim to help national malaria programs (NMPs) assess the operational performance, entomological outcomes, epidemiological impact, and cost-effectiveness of tech-enabled LSM in real-world program settings.

Larval source management (LSM), the treatment or modification of the aquatic habitats of juvenile mosquitoes, has historically been considered an effective malaria control strategy, but only in settings where these aquatic habitats  can be located, identified, prioritized, treated, and monitored. This is a challenge in many settings, where small water bodies are short-lived and hard to find. Recent advances in satellite data, drones, artificial intelligence, mobile applications, and digital surveillance systems are improving the feasibility of planning and delivering LSM at scale. However, for such approaches to be adopted by national programs and supported by global health partners, rigorous evidence on effectiveness, feasibility, and value for money is essential.

Through this collaboration, SORA Technology and MEI intend to support NMPs and partners in designing, implementing, and evaluating tech-enabled LSM programs. The collaboration may include evaluation study design, entomological monitoring, epidemiological impact assessment, operational performance evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, policy-relevant synthesis, and capacity-strengthening activities for country teams. 

The strategic significance of this collaboration is that tech-enabled LSM will become an implementable, measurable, and scalable vector control approach. By pairing field-ready operational tools with a structured evaluation framework, SORA Technology and MEI aim to support countries in generating policy-relevant evidence that can inform malaria strategies, donor investment decisions, and pathways for national scale-up.

Key areas of collaboration include

– Technology deployment: Deployment of SORA Technology’s tech-enabled LSM tools, including AI-powered mosquito habitat detection, drone-based environmental mapping, digital risk classification, targeted larvicide application support, and operational dashboards for vector control programs.
– Monitoring and evaluation: Application of the CLEAR framework to evaluate larviciding interventions, including operational performance, entomological outcomes, epidemiological impact, and cost-effectiveness.
– Evidence generation: Joint efforts to generate high-quality evidence on the effectiveness, feasibility, scalability, and value of digital vector control systems.
– Programmatic integration: Support for NMPs to integrate tech-enabled LSM into national malaria strategies, pilot designs, implementation plans, funding requests, and scale-up pathways.
– Knowledge sharing and capacity strengthening: Sharing lessons and findings through publications, policy discussions, conference presentations, partner engagement, and training activities, where appropriate.

Executive Comment

Yosuke Kaneko, CEO and Founder of SORA Technology
“SORA Technology is working to transform larval source management from a labor-intensive intervention into a more precise, data-driven, and scalable public health approach. By collaborating with UCSF MEI and applying the CLEAR framework, we aim to strengthen the evidence base for tech-enabled LSM and support national malaria programs in measuring impact, improving implementation, and making informed decisions on adoption and scale-up.”

Edward Thomsen, Director of Vector Control and Surveillance,
Malaria Elimination Initiative, University of California, San Francisco
“The effectiveness of a larval source management program in reducing malaria is heavily dependent on the rigorousness of program implementation and the use of data to improve program performance. Our collaboration with SORA Technology aims to put actionable data on larval habitats and operational performance at the fingertips of programs, allowing them to make the right decisions at the right times.”

About SORA Technology

SORA Technology Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based technology company applying satellite data, drones, artificial intelligence, and geospatial intelligence to address global public health, environmental, and operational challenges. In malaria vector control, SORA Technology develops and deploys tech-enabled larval source management solutions that support mosquito habitat detection, risk classification, larvicide planning, field operations, and monitoring through integrated digital tools.

About the UCSF Malaria Elimination Initiative

The Malaria Elimination Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco, believes a malaria-free world is possible within a generation. As a forward-thinking organization working in service of ministries of health around the world, the MEI’s mission is to advance progress toward malaria elimination and eradication through innovative, evidence-based solutions and high-impact partnerships.