How To End Malaria Once and for All | Abdoulaye Diabaté | TED

Summary

In this powerful talk, Abdoulaye Diabaté, a medical entomologist, shares his personal experience with malaria and discusses the ongoing struggle to eradicate the disease in Africa. He introduces the innovative gene drive technology, which aims to control mosquito populations and halt malaria transmission. Despite the promise of this approach, he emphasizes the importance of community engagement, transparency, and capacity building to ensure its successful and ethical implementation.

Takeaways

• 🦟 The speaker, Abdoulaye Diabaté, is a medical entomologist working on eliminating malaria in Africa.
• 🌏 Malaria was once a global public health issue but has been successfully tackled in the US and Europe, yet remains a killer in Africa and Asia.
• 🔗 Malaria is closely linked to poverty and has a significant impact on children and pregnant women, leading to about 600,000 deaths annually.
• 💉 Current interventions like vaccines, bed nets, and first-hand treatments are being threatened by resistance to insecticides and drugs.
• 🧬 The speaker introduces 'gene drive', a method to control mosquito populations by altering genes to reduce their reproductive capacity.
• 🛡 The 'doublesex' gene is targeted to affect female fertility in mosquitoes, with the aim of reducing the population and halting malaria transmission.
• 📉 Mathematical models suggest that releasing gene drive mosquitoes could stop malaria transmission within two years.
• 🚧 The technology of gene drive is in the lab phase and requires careful consideration of potential risks and community engagement before field release.
• 🌱 Target Malaria is taking an incremental approach, starting with non-gene-drive mosquitoes and gradually increasing exposure to the gene drive.
• 🏛 There is a need for community engagement and social license to operate, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder involvement in the process.
• 🏫 Capacity building in Africa is essential for the sustainable implementation of gene drive technology, with the establishment of a center of excellence and support from the Gates Foundation.
• 🌟 The speaker's vision is a world free of malaria, emphasizing the importance of hope and the potential of science to change lives.

Q & A

What is the speaker's relationship with mosquitoes?

The speaker, Abdoulaye Diabaté, does not have a good relationship with mosquitoes, as they are a source of suffering and disease, particularly malaria, which has affected him personally during his childhood.

Why is malaria still a significant problem in Africa and Asia despite being tackled in the US and Europe?

Malaria persists in Africa and Asia due to a combination of factors including poverty, lack of effective interventions, and the complexity of the disease which involves the pathogen Plasmodium, the vector Anopheles mosquitoes, and the human victims.

What is Abdoulaye Diabaté's profession and where is he from?

Abdoulaye Diabaté is a medical entomologist from l'Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé, and he is speaking from Burkina Faso.

How does malaria relate to poverty?

Malaria is closely linked to poverty because it disproportionately affects the poor who often lack the resources to prevent and treat the disease, creating a cycle of illness and financial hardship.

What is the impact of malaria in terms of global health statistics?

There are approximately 200 million cases of malaria worldwide each year, resulting in about 600,000 deaths, with the majority occurring in Africa and affecting children and pregnant women the most.

What is a gene drive and how does it work?

A gene drive is a natural molecular mechanism that increases the frequency of a particular gene in a population beyond the usual 50% inheritance rate. It can drive the spread of a gene to up to 90% of offspring, potentially altering traits in a species.

How does Target Malaria plan to use gene drive to combat malaria?

Target Malaria is working on using gene drive to control the mosquito population by targeting a gene called doublesex, which is involved in sex determination. By disrupting this gene, they aim to reduce the reproductive capacity of mosquitoes, thereby decreasing malaria transmission.

What are the potential challenges of releasing gene drive mosquitoes in the field?

Challenges include the possibility of mosquitoes developing resistance to the gene drive, geopolitical issues regarding the release of genetically modified organisms across borders, environmental risks, and the need for community acceptance and a social license to operate.

What is the incremental approach adopted by Target Malaria for releasing gene drive mosquitoes?

The incremental approach involves a step-by-step process starting with the release of non-gene-drive mosquitoes, followed by testing in small and large indoor cages, and eventually moving to open field releases after careful consideration of potential risks and additional research.

How far are we from releasing gene drive mosquitoes according to the speaker?

According to Abdoulaye Diabaté, we are approximately four to five years away from releasing gene drive mosquitoes in the field, with the actual release being a matter of minutes, but preparation and community engagement taking the majority of that time.

Why is capacity building important for the success of gene drive technology in Africa?

Capacity building is crucial because it enables African scientists and institutions to independently manage and sustain the gene drive technology, ensuring long-term success in combating malaria without reliance on external support.