African Snakebite Alliance

Alliance Overview

The legacy of neglect for snakebite is clear with up to one-third of the annual global snakebite deaths occuring in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This neglect includes the uncounted deaths and severe and permanent morbidity caused by these bites. The 2019 WHO roadmap has a clearly stated goal of halving snakebite deaths and disability worldwide by 2030. However, achieving that goal is considerably hampered by the lack of high-quality research evidence to inform policy and practice.

The African Snakebite Alliances aims to address this in the coming years.

What is Snakebite Envenoming?

Snakebite Envenoming is a Neglected Tropical Disease, as classified by the World Health Organization, kills between 81,000 and 138,000 people annually. These individuals more often than not reside in some of the move disadvantaged subsistence rural farming communities across Africa and Asia.

In addition to the mortality caused by snakebite annually a further 400,000 surviving victims are left with permanent physical disabilities and disfigurements as a result of the bite. These individuals are often the most economically important and educationally vulnerable 10-30 year olds, that suffer disproportionally high rates of snakebite mortality and morbidity. Snakebite is therefore both a consequence and cause of tropical poverty.

Our Aim and Objectives

Aim: To improve health outcomes for people affected by snakebite envenoming by addressing evidence gaps in policy and practice in Africa.

This bold and innovative approach will transform the snakebite field by linking the international scientific community with local policy and community actors in an Alliance that is anchored in Africa. This co-ordinated approach is crucial for ensuring that the WHO goal of reducing morbidity and mortality will succeed.

Objectives:

To undertake high-quality research relevant to improving health outcomes for people affected by snakebite in Africa
To develop systems to support national and regional bodies in Africa to incorporate research evidence into decision-making in policy and practice
To develop and support a sustainable and cross-disciplinary capacity for snakebite research in Africa

Work Package 1: Undertaking High-Quality Research

Work Package 2: Transitioning Research into Policy and Practice

Work Package 3: Supporting Capacity Building Activities

Funding Opportunities

Open Grants

Up to one-third of annual global snakebite deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an upper estimate of 32,000 per year. The African Snakebite Alliance, funded by Wellcome Trust, aims to improve health outcomes for people affected by snakebite envenoming, by addressing evidence gaps in policy and practice in Africa.

In this call, two different types of proposals will be funded:

Three Network research proposals, which should be for 2 years with a maximum budget of £100,000 per proposal
Two Postdoc research proposals, which should be for 2 years with a maximum budget of £50,000 per proposal

Priority areas for funding

The proposals submitted to this call are expected to address at least one of the

following activities in scope.

Research activities related to burden aim to:

Reduce gaps between true SBE incidence and available data
Identify hotspots (data capture, mapping and surveillance)
Assess long-term consequences (including economic burden) of snakebite envenoming for society and the health care system

Research activities related to treatment aim to:

Optimize antivenom distribution and/or the supply chain
Evaluate options to decentralize treatment to the community level
Improve access to healthcare facilities
Optimize rehabilitation and quality of life after the bite

For further information please see the Open Grant Call Document and the French version here.

Alliance Publications

Correspondence: The African snakebite Alliance
- George O. Oluoch, Ymkje Stienstra, Janna M. Schurer, Rhona Mijumbi, Jean Bosco Mbonigaba, Brent Thomas, Sara Padidar, John Amuasi, David G. Lalloo, Correspondence: The African snakebite Alliance, Toxicon, 2023, 107535, ISSN 0041-0101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107535.
Stakeholder perspectives from 15 countries in Africa on barriers in snakebite envenoming research and the potential role of research hubs
- Stienstra Y, Aglanu LM, Schurer JM, Mijumbi R, Mbonigaba JB, Habib AG, et al. (2023) Stakeholder perspectives from 15 countries in Africa on barriers in snakebite envenoming research and the potential role of research hubs. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 17(12): e0011838. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011838.
Community-based snakebite risk mapping for resource prioritisation in Eastern Province, Rwanda
- Dileepa Senajith Ediriweera, Dieudonne Hakizimana, Peter J Diggle, Janna M Schurer, Community-based snakebite risk mapping for resource prioritisation in Eastern Province, Rwanda, Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2025; trae069, https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trae069