Finishing off malaria: my conversation with Bill Gates

Last year, I had the privilege of taking part in a documentary series that explores the potential of our future, and in particular the use of science and technology to solve today’s challenges, especially diseases, poverty, and inequity. What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates”, premieres today 18 September on the streaming website Netflix.

As a scientist deeply invested in advocacy for malaria research, this documentary series gave me an incredible platform to showcase how science and philanthropy can come together to foster creativity, innovation, and eventually sustainable solutions for the advancement of global health.

My encounter with Bill Gates is featured in Episode 5, titled “How to outsmart disease?” directed by Alex Braverman. It focuses on the history of malaria elimination and current efforts into new strategies to fight the disease in Africa, such as vaccines, monoclonal antibodies or genetically modified mosquitoes. Talking with Bill, I found myself imagining a day when the scourge of malaria would be a thing of the past in my home country of Burkina Faso and in Africa. Bill, through my story, experienced what it must be like to live under the threatening presence of malaria every rainy season, and the fear of seeing the most vulnerable at risk of losing their life to the disease. Both of us shared stories and ideas on how to leverage technology and global partnerships while catering to local stakeholders. Community-engaged research is an essential strategy for the design and delivery of efficient public health interventions.  

If malaria was killing 600,000 people in the US or Europe, the problem would have completely changed by now

– Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté

I also seized the opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to Bill on behalf of my fellow researchers and colleagues from Target Malaria. This international consortium convening scientists from three continents would not have come this far without the enduring support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provides core funding to our research project. Working with the international teams of Target Malaria has really nurtured my belief in the power of collaborative efforts and international scientific partnerships to drive meaningful change.

Being part of “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates”, alongside a wonderful group of malaria researchers and advocates, such as Dr. Titus Kwambai from Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and Dr. Robert Seder of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been both an honor and a profoundly inspiring experience. I want to thank Netflix and Bill Gates for deciding to dedicate an entire episode to malaria, for visiting our research team at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso and for inviting me to have this heart-to-heart discussion. Such opportunities to share with the world the plight of malaria do not arise often enough. Nonetheless the efforts and the commitment of the malaria community keep my hope and faith alive that we will end malaria once and for all in a not-so-distant future.

I look forward to sharing these insights with global audiences and continuing the dialogue on how we can collectively build a healthier and more equitable future for everyone.

It would be one of mankind’s biggest achievements to finish off malaria

– Bill Gates