TED2024, a hallmark event celebrating 40 years of innovation, ingenuity, creativity, courage, and generosity, took place in Vancouver, Canada in April, and featured Africa’s esteemed, and leading champion against malaria, Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté as a speaker.
A closed event at the time, Prof. Diabate’s TED talk, titled “How to End Malaria”, went live on TED.comon Tuesday, August 20, at 11am ET (3pm GMT) in line with World Mosquito Day, 2024.
Hailing from Burkina Faso, Prof. Diabaté is Head of Medical Entomology and Parasitology at the Research Institute in Health Sciences (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé – IRSS), in Bobo-Dioulasso. His acclaimed research work as Principal Investigator of Target Malaria Burkina Faso has earned him global recognition, including prestigious speaking engagements at Harvard University, interviews by prestigious international and national media, including national TV channels in Burkina Faso; CNN, BBC, CBC, The New York Times, Le Monde, Financial Times, CNBC; as well as participation in several documentaries featured on Netflix.
Malaria, a relentless scourge claiming a child’s life every minute, exacts a devastating toll, with over 600,000 deaths and 200 million cases annually, primarily affecting African communities, especially children and pregnant women.
In his TED2024 talk, Prof. Diabaté aims to catalyse transformative change in global health by highlighting Target Malaria’s innovative approach using gene drive technology and emphasising collaboration and African voices’ centrality in the fight against malaria.
Later this year, Prof. Diabaté will also be featured on Netflix’s “In what’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates,’’ a series that explores the impact of AI, the spread of misinformation, income inequality, and advancement in disease eradications.
Reflecting on the global attention his work is receiving, “I am humbled and equally energised to continue my mission to eliminate malaria in Africa. It’s a testament to the importance of our collective efforts to use human ingenuity to not only end malaria, but to also improve global health and build the next generations of African scientists,” said Prof. Diabaté.
To watch his talk at TED 2024, click here: go.ted.com/abdoulayediabate.
About Target Malaria
Target Malaria is a not-for-profit research consortium that aims to develop and share new, cost-effective and sustainable genetic technologies to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission. Our vision is to contribute to a world free of malaria. We aim to achieve excellence in all areas of our work, creating a path for responsible research and development of genetic technologies, such as gene drive. www.targetmalaria.org
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About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx eventsbring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through theAudacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.
