Out-of-the-box Innovations Against Malaria

Malaria kills nearly six hundred thousand people every year, with 95 percent of deaths occurring in Africa. Most of them are children under five. While progress on curbing malaria has flattened in recent years, new scientific breakthroughs may bring the world closer than ever not only to controlling malaria outbreaks, but potentially also eradicating the disease. In this episode, we focus on the best mosquito control strategies to eliminate malaria. Host Henry Bonsu interviews Dr. Fredros Okumu, professor at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a scientist at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. His research evaluates many of the latest tools to combat malaria, including next generation insecticide bed nets, indoor residual sprays (IRS), and spatial repellants, also known as spatial emanators. Then, reporter Paul Adepoju talks to scientists from the UK- and Tanzania-based Transmission Zero project. They have developed genetically modified mosquitoes that could dramatically reduce the transmission of malaria. Paul Adepoju speaks with Dr. Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera, a leading entomologist also at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, as well as Dr. Nikolai Windbichler from Imperial College London, who leads the molecular genetics side of the Transmission Zero project. The Threshold is made possible in part through funding from the Gates Foundation. Guests and organizations: Dr. Fredros Okumu, professor at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a scientist at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania Dr. Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera, entomologist at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania Dr. Nikolai Windbichler, associate professor at Imperial College London