Malaria represents one of the main Public Health problems with greater weight in morbidity and mortality, in the world and in Mozambique in particular. According to the WHO, it is estimated that in 2018 about 228 million cases of malaria and 405 thousand deaths were estimated globally; of these cases, 93% (213 million) occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Mozambique is one of the ten countries with the highest weight of malaria in the world, with the disease being responsible for about 29% of all deaths (42% in children under 5 years old). Data from the survey of malaria indicators carried out in 2018, indicate that the prevalence of malaria in children under 5 years old was 39% in Mozambique, ranging from 1% in the City and Province of Maputo to 57% in the province of Cabo Delgado.

The investment in research for malaria has been increasing with the relaunch of the objective of eliminating malaria through the global technical strategy for malaria launched in 2015 by WHO; as well as the most recent initiative, also by WHO, called “High Burden High Impact” (HBHI) launched in Maputo in November 2018 which aims to accelerate malaria control measures in 10 African countries plus India. These countries, including Mozambique, contribute more than 70% of the global weight of malaria. Both strategies mentioned above have research as an essential pillar to guide the implementation of activities based on scientific evidence.

The history of CISM is associated with the RTS,S malaria vaccine development initiative, which contributed to the development of human and institutional capacity for research in this area.