Can Cell-Phone Tower Signals Help Fight Malaria in Africa?

Malaria is one of the major causes of mortality in the world today. Sub-Saharan African countries suffer most acutely from outbreaks of the disease and some 90% of cases of death (hundreds of thousands of people each year) occur in this region. High intensity rainfall is a central parameter leading to severe outbreaks of the disease, which typically lag the rain event by several weeks. However, current rainfall monitoring tools deployed in Africa do not provide sufficient response due to very limited spread in the continent. During the last dozen years, the ability to monitor rain using microwave communication networks has been demonstrated. However, the tens of research papers published thus far have shown the contribution of the method mainly for hydro-meteorological needs. This note points to the potential of microwave communication networks for providing rainfall information critically required to predict malaria outbreaks and to support planning of preventive measures.