Horn of Africa · Public Health
Key Facts
Invasion accelerating. Anopheles stephensi, a malaria mosquito native to South Asia and the Middle East, is spreading across Africa with alarming speed, from the Horn of Africa as far west as Ghana.
Urban threat. Unlike Africa’s native malaria vectors, it breeds in water tanks, wells, cisterns and construction sites, bringing malaria risk into cities.
Transmission confirmed. A July 2026 study in Parasites & Vectors confirmed An. stephensi carrying Plasmodium vivax parasites in Djibouti City.
