Ibrahima Baber

Ibrahima Baber is an entomologist with 23 years of experience working in malaria vector control for development organizations and academic research institutions and as a consultant for private sector and mining companies. He performed surveillance on malaria vector bionomics in Sadiola and Yatela gold mine fields in the Kayes Region in Mali to assess the impact of mining activities on the mosquito population.

Baber currently serves as the chief of party (COP) of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative Evolving Vector Control to Fight Malaria (PMI Evolve) project in Liberia. He supports the country’s National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) on monitoring malaria vectors and insecticide resistance testing. Baber supervises a team of seven and leads a field workforce of 12 people who provide national-level support to strengthen the capacity of the NMCP and University of Liberia staff in entomological techniques and data management and analysis.

Prior to the launch of PMI Evolve in 2023, Baber served in the same role for the PMI VectorLink Project from 2015 to 2023. During that project, he and his team collected data on malaria mosquito resistance to pyrethroids and susceptibility to chlorfenapyr. The data collected resulted in the Liberia Ministry of Health approving the use of new Interceptor® G2-insecticide-treated nets for the 2021 mass net distribution campaign. 

Before joining Abt, Baber was an entomologist researcher at the Malaria Research and Training Center at the University of Bamako for 10 years. He led entomology activities on two studies. One was a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine assessment sponsored by the U.S. Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institutes of Health. The other, funded by Keele University, UK, involved genetic engineering of mosquito vectors. This study’s aim is to block malaria transmission by employing genetically modified vectors that express anti-parasite molecules. It was a collaborative study between the Malaria Research and Training Center of Mali (MRTC) and Keele University.

Before that, Baber oversaw the implementation of indoor residual spraying in Chad at the Kome oil field, a project led by International SOS in conjunction with ExxonMobil. He also served as a consultant on vector monitoring for private sector and mining companies in Mali.

Expertise

• Entomology
• Vector control
• Data collection and analysis
• Project implementation

Key Projects

• PMI Evolve 
• PMI VectorLink
• PMI AIRS

Publications

• Dadzie SK, Akorli J, Coulibaly MB, Ahadji-Dabla KM, Baber I, Bobanga T, Boukhary AOMS, Canelas T, Facchinelli L, Gonçalves A, Guelbeogo M, Kamgang B, Keita IK, Konan L, Levine R, Dzuris N, Lenhart A; WAASuN contributors. Building the capacity of West African countries in Aedes surveillance: inaugural meeting of the West African Aedes Surveillance Network (WAASuN). Parasit Vectors. 2022 Oct 21;15(1):381. doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05507-0. PMID: 36271451; PMCID: PMC9585720.
• Oxborough, R.M., Seyoum, A., Yihdego, Y., Chabi, J., Wat'senga, F., Agossa, F.R., Coleman, S., Musa, S.L., Faye, O., Okia, M., Bayoh, M., Alyko, E., Rakotoson, J.D., Masendu, H., Sovi, A., Gadiaga, L., Abong'o, B., Opondo, K., Baber, I., Dabire, R., Gnanguenon, V., Yohannes, G., Varela, K., Fondjo, E., Carlson, J., Armistead, J.S., Dengela, D. (2021). Determination of the discriminating concentration of chlorfenapyr (pyrrole) and Anopheles gambiae sensu lato susceptibility testing in preparation for distribution of Interceptor® G2 insecticide-treated nets. Malaria Journal. Jul 14;20(1):316. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03847-3.
• Sagara, I., Heal,y S.A., Assadou, M.H., Gabriel, E.E., Kone, M., Sissoko, K., Tembine ,I., Guindo, M.A., Doucoure, M., Niaré, K., Dolo, A., Rausch, K.M., Narum, D.L., Jones, D.L., MacDonald, N.J., Zhu, D., Mohan, R., Muratova, O., Baber, I., Coulibaly, M.B., Fay, M.P., Anderson, C., Wu, Y., Traore, S.F., Doumbo, O.K., Duffy, P.E. (2018). Safety and immunogenicity of Pfs25H-EPA/Alhydrogel, a transmission-blocking vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum: a randomised, double-blind, comparator-controlled, dose-escalation study in healthy Malian adults. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 18(9):969-982. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30344-X.
• Oxborough, R.M., Seyoum, A., Yihdego, Y., Dabire, R., Gnanguenon, V., Wat'senga, F., Agossa, F.R., Yohannes, G., Coleman, S., Samdi, L.M., Diop, A., Faye, O., Magesa, S., Manjurano, A., Okia, M., Alyko, E., Masendu, H., Baber, I., Sovi, A., Rakotoson, J.D., Varela, K., Abong'o, B., Lucas, B., Fornadel, C., Dengela, D. (2019). Susceptibility testing of Anopheles malaria vectors with the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin; results from 16 African countries, in preparation for indoor residual spraying with new insecticide formulations. Malaria Journal. Aug 1;18(1):264. doi: 10.1186/s12936-019-2888-6.
• Keïta, M., Baber, I., Sogoba, N., Maïga, H.M., Diallo, M., Doumbia, S., Traoré, S.F. (2014). Transmission vectorielle du paludisme dans un village du bord du fleuve Niger et son hameau de pêche (Kéniéroba et Fourda, Mali) [Vectorial transmission of malaria in a village along the Niger River and its fishing hamlet (Kéniéroba and Fourda, Mali)]. Bulletin de la Société de Pathologie Exotique. 107(5):356-68. French. doi: 10.1007/s13149-014-0398-x.