Muhammad Imran Nisar, Furqan Kabir, Fyezah Jehan, and Syed Asad Ali of Aga Khan University in Pakistan will employ a metagenomic sequencing approach to better identify bacterial and viral infections, including those caused by novel pathogens, in newborns and infants in Pakistan. Pakistan has the highest neonatal mortality rate in the world. Almost one third of neonatal deaths are thought to be caused by an infectious disease, but accurate diagnosis is challenging in low-resource settings. In a recent study, despite using elaborate detection methods, only 28% of suspected infectious cases could be confirmed. In addition, novel pathogens escape detection because conventional microbiological methods are limited to detecting a predetermined selection. To overcome these limitations, they will establish a metagenomics approach for next generation sequencing with the cloud computing IDseq software to identify the infectious pathogens. They will sequence and analyze 150 archived blood and nasopharyngeal specimens from a previous study and additionally analyze blood and swab samples to be collected from sick newborns and infants with suspected infections over a six-month period at a primary healthcare center in a peri-urban community in Karachi, Pakistan.

Ricardo Valladares of Siolta Therapeutics in the U.S. will develop a low-cost method to manufacture large quantities of mixed populations of bacteria for use as biotherapeutics to restore a healthy population of gut microbes in infants. A diverse population of bacteria in the infant gut is essential for health, but malnourishment and antibiotics can destroy microbial diversity and cause metabolic and immune problems. Gut health may be restored by treatment with a consortium of bacterial strains. However, mass production of these strains is challenging as many have complex nutritional and environmental growth requirements. To date consortium microbes have been cultured individually, resulting in a costly, small-scale process. They will first study bacterial populations in healthy infant guts to determine what species are required and the combinations that co-exist naturally. To support their growth in vitro, they will optimize a vegetable-based culture media composed of low-cost, widely available food staples, and then apply bioreactor technology used by commercial breweries to manufacture large quantities of the microbial mixture at low cost. Together, these approaches could help make microbiota-based biotherapeutics accessible in low- and middle-income countries.

Benedict Mongula of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania will analyze two apparently conflicting national agricultural policies centered on either large-scale agriculture or smallholder farmers and determine how to combine them to benefit all stakeholders for inclusive agricultural transformation. Agriculture is central to the Tanzanian economy, yet its impact is limited by a lack of infrastructure, education, and market access. Current agricultural policy is shaped by two conflicting approaches: large-scale agriculture under the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor (SAGCOT), driven by wealthy foreign investors; and smallholder farming under the government-led Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP). SAGCOT has been criticized for removing land from rural farmers and increasing poverty, while ASDP has many projects in place but has not demonstrated significant impact on the industry. They will investigate how to link the two approaches for inclusive agricultural transformation – improvements to the industry that protect all stakeholders, regardless of social class, culture, gender or age. Through consultation with participants, including government officials, investors and ordinary citizens, they will analyze the two approaches, identify which of the large-scale agricultural investments are most consistent with inclusive transformation, and determine to what extent both SAGCOT and ASDP address the needs of the diverse population. The new policy framework will be presented in the form of a journal article, stakeholder meetings, and workshops.

Melanie Bannister-Tyrrell of Ausvet in Australia will create an SMS-based communication system for farmers in Kenya to anonymously report crop disease and pest infestations and generate surveillance data to minimize crop loss. Pest infestation and disease cause substantial crop losses each year. In many low-income countries, farmers do not report disease to local agricultural authorities because they fear their crops will be destroyed without compensation. Yet information on the presence and spread of pests is needed to inform decisions on planting and control measures. They will optimize the design of an SMS interface for anonymous reporting using SMS codes for diseases and pests. The system will be piloted in one county, leveraging existing users and community volunteers to recruit new users. Reports will be used to estimate the local prevalence of pests and disease using modified small-area statistics. If a credible threat is detected, all users will be alerted. The system will improve connection and trust between farmers and agricultural extension workers and improve surveillance.