Malaria Atlas Project - Country Risk Mapping
CEMA-Africa Seminar Series
Topic: Malaria Atlas Project - Country Risk Mapping
Guest Speaker: Dr. Punam Amratia, Technical Lead of the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) Dar
es Salaam office, Tanzania.
Date: 4th September 2024 (12:00 pm EAT)
Talk Summary: The Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) is an international research group dedicated to tracking and
understanding malaria to aid in its global eradication. At MAP, we believe that the key to defeating malaria lies in
accurately measuring its prevalence and impact. Our mission is to integrate the world's malaria data with advanced
analytics to produce the most reliable information that can guide strategies against the disease.
Since decentralizing in 2023, MAP now operates from two strategic locations: Perth and Dar es Salaam. The Dar es
Salaam team, in particular, focuses on collaborating closely with malaria programs to deliver innovative geospatial
analytics that address practical, on-the-ground needs. This team supports over 19 countries across sub-Saharan Africa
by providing insights on risk stratification mapping, catchment population estimation, care-seeking behavior, and
optimal allocation of health services. In this talk, Dr. Amratia will delve into the various global, national, and sub-
national modeling approaches utilized by the MAP team to answer the most critical questions in the malaria field,
enhancing the fight against this disease through data-driven decision-making
Speaker Bio: Dr. Punam Amratia is a leading expert in malaria epidemiology, biostatistics, and geospatial modelling.
With over a decade of experience, she currently serves as the Technical Lead of the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) Dar
es Salaam office, Tanzania. Dr. Amratia leverages cutting-edge geospatial frameworks to analyze data from
surveillance systems, providing crucial support for both malaria elimination settings and high-burden countries.
Dr. Amratia is a skilled educator, developing and delivering introductory data science courses at prestigious
institutions like the University of Oxford. Additionally, she has played a pivotal role in capacity building within
malaria-endemic countries, creating training materials and fostering knowledge exchange in geostatistics and data
science.
Her background includes an MSc in Epidemiology, Imperial College and a PhD in Emerging Pathogens, University of
Florida. Professionally, she has served as a senior research officer at the Telethon Kids Institute, a post-doctoral fellow
at the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford, a statistician for the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative in
Nairobi, and a research officer at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust in Nairobi.
Use the link below to register for the seminar:
bit.ly/CEMASeminarSeries-Sept