Effect of housing modification on indoor thermal comfort and malaria vector densities in hot and humid zones of western and coastal Kenya

In hot and humid parts of Kenya, simple modifications to houses—screened windows, doors, and eaves—aim to keep homes cooler while blocking the malaria mosquitoes that enter through the same openings. This research addresses a dual problem that standard housing design often ignores. In western and coastal Kenya, dwellings need openings for ventilation, but these same gaps let in heat and mosquitoes. As global warming raises temperatures, heat-related illnesses reduce people’s ability to work and strain local economies. Meanwhile, malaria remains a major health risk. Current housing rarely balances cooling with mosquito control. If the modifications work, the impact would be immediate and practical. Households could maintain indoor temperatures within a comfortable, safe range without relying on expensive air conditioning. At the same time, screened openings would cut the number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes entering homes, lowering infection rates. This is not fundamental science—it is an applied test of a low-cost, scalable intervention. Success would give communities in hot, malaria-endemic zones a way to improve both daily comfort and long-term health, with no new technology or infrastructure required.