HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SEEKS NEW VENTILATION DESIGNS TO SOLVE AT-HOME MALARIA TRANSMISSION

NAIROBI (April 7, 2025) — Habitat for Humanity and SeaFreight Labs launched a new global open-innovation challenge to try to dramatically reduce malaria infections by targeting where most infections begin: at home. The challenge, which runs through 7 July 2025, includes a US$24,000 prize pool. 

Although completely preventable, malaria remains one of the leading causes of death globally for children under the age of five. Curbing the disease’ spread is now more crucial than ever. Rising temperatures have enabled mosquitos to thrive in larger areas, while higher indoor temperature correlates to lower use of bed nets. 

“Most malaria transmission occurs in the home, so that is where we must look to innovate,” says Roland Pearson, vice president and executive director of the Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, a division of Habitat for Humanity International. “Small changes in how households build can have an outsized impact on their health and well-being. Our goal is to identify and test housing solutions that are affordable and can be scalable to reach millions of low-income families.” 

Habitat for Humanity and SeaFreight Labs have already identified and prototyped one such solution through a previous crowd-sourced innovation challenge in 2021. Initial research conducted in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute found that solution, which uses air cavities constructed from affordable, locally available materials, was able to reduce mosquitos’ entry into the home by 89 percent.  

“It was important to us that the solution not be a specific product households need to purchase, but rather a construction innovation that any mason building or renovating a house can construct and install independently,” explains Harry Sangree, founder and CEO of SeaFreight Labs. “For that reason, we are particularly eager for submissions from engineers, architects, interior designers, and others living in East Africa who understand local housing needs and construction preferences.” 

The new challenge, “Reducing Malaria Spread with Improved Air Quality Ventilation,” asks solvers to refine the air cavity design into a viable and desirable alternative to conventional windows, while still preventing mosquito entry. Submissions are open until July 7, 2025 through HeroX, a crowd solving platform. Three shortlisted solutions will undergo field testing and will be awarded US$3,000, with the winning solution receiving an additional US$15,000 prize.