Long-lasting insecticidal bednets, or LLINs for short, are an integral part of the global effort to fight malaria, with the WHO recommending that everyone, all 3.4 billion people, at risk of malaria should have access to one. But how effective are they? To try and understand how bednets are being used in the field, a team of researchers led by Paul…

When testing for malaria, there are two primary options: lab-based diagnosis and RTDs, Rapid Diagnostic Tests. There are pros and cons with each. Lab-based diagnosis, whilst accurate, require expert training and a well-equipped lab, which may not be available in low-resource settings. RTDs, whilst portable and inexpensive, are not always accurate, …

A new study has found that fungus, genetically enhanced to produce spider toxin, can kill a large-number of malaria-carrying mosquitos. I speak with Brian Lovett, who is one of the authors of the paper.

To take a look at where we are in the fight against malaria, I’m joined by Michal Fishman of Malaria No More. She’s co-chairs the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, which brings together organisations to reduce malaria cases.

In 2018, leaders of the Commonwealth countries pledged to reduce malaria cases by half by 2023. One year on, what has been done to try and achieve that aim?Malaria No More held a panel in London to try and answer that very question.

Malaria No More has just launched a petition, with David Beckham as its figurehead. The petition aims to get the attention of world leaders ahead of critical funding decisions for The Global Fund. But this petition is not asking for signatures or for your email address, it wants your voice, and for you to recording yourself saying ‘Malaria Must Die…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the malaria experts. The Mobile Malaria team, led by Dr George Busby from the University of Oxford, are about to set off on a six-thousand-kilometre journey across Africa. They’ll be making the journey in a Land Rover, taking portable DNA sequencing technology o…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the malaria experts. All of our genetic material is made from DNA. It’s a chemical found in the nucleus of our cells, in long structures called chromosomes. The entire set of our genetic material forms our genome; each one of our is unique. Having reference geno…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria. The world’s access to mobile phones is increasing. Quartz Africa predicts that one billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa will have one by 2023. Fatou Secka, a student at Dalhousie University in Canada, is using this to revolutionise m…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria. There are a number of stakeholders in the fight against malaria. Hundreds of organisations, nonprofits and government schemes are united by a common objective: to eradicate malaria. But how do you align this global community to ensur…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria. Today I’m joined by Dr Mark Amos to discuss the accuracy of malaria testing. How accurate are Rapid Diagnostic Tests, or RTDs, tools that are becoming increasing popular? And how do they compare to traditional lab testing? This is Fi…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria. In the final episode of 2018, I’m pleased to share this interview with Penny Mordaunt. She’s the Secretary of State for International Development. Its aim is to build a safer and more prosperous world by tackling the global challenge…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria. Target Malaria is a consortium of researchers using 'gene drives' to help eliminate malaria. In this podcast, I speak with Dr Alekos Simoni, one of their researchers based at Imperial College London.…

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria.Today, I’m joined by Jeremy Lefroy MP, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and NTDs.Political attitudes are vital to the success of malaria elimination efforts and his responsibility is to inform other Parliament…

I’m joined by Lukyn Gedge who is coordinating the Microbide Bucket Challenge in India. Her team is testing the efficacy of a new biodegradable larvicide that can kill mosquitos, releasing carbon dioxide and water into the atmosphere.This is Five Minutes with Lukyn Gedge.

Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the people fighting malaria.Today, I’m joined by Mary Skelly, the CEO of Microbide, a chemical company based in Ireland. Her team is developing a biodegradable insecticide for the control of mosquitoes. It’s currently undergoing so-called 'bucket trials' in Indi…

I’m joined by Joan Nalubega, the Founder of Uganics. Her company makes and sells mosquito-repellent soap. It’s received worldwide attention after Reuters shared Joan’s story online.This is Five Minutes with Joan Nalubega.

To kickstart Series 2 of Five Minute, I’m joined by Stella Murumba, a Kenyan journalist.She’s been involved in an investigation into substandard antimalarial drugs. Her journalism has resulted in the Kenyan Health Ministry to recall Duo-Cotecxin, a commonly used antimalarial.

Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Carson was a passionate scientist and ecologist, writing about the environment. Her most famous book, Silent Spring, was published in 1962 - two years before her death. The book emphasises the need to preserve our world. It also presented her theory about the environmental consequences of …

Annemarie Quinn and Code Sangala speak to me about their charity, Music Against Malaria. They’re currently touring Malawi to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.This is Five Minutes.

Joining me today is Professor Marcia Castro of Harvard University. She’s helped launch MalariaX: From Genes to Globe. It’s an online course that details the science and technology of malaria, as well as the historical, political, social and economic factors to its eradication.The course is available on the edX platform, is free of charge and lasts …

Joining me today is Michelle Stanton, a Research Fellow in the Centre for Health, Informatics, Computing and Statistics at Lancaster University. She also holds an honorary position at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.She’s working on trying to reduce malaria deaths by better understanding where mosquito breeding spots are. To do this, she’…

Dr Deborah O’Neil is the CEO of Novabiotics, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the design and development of first-in-class anti-infectives.She recently delivered a talk on the pharmaceutical industry as it is today, and offered an insight into what it could become, with a focus on so-called ‘personalised medicines’.She also…

There’s a significant shortage of people working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). According to STEM.org.uk, this shortage is costing businesses £1.5 billion a year in recruitment, temporary staffing, inflated salaries and additional training costs.Trying to change that is Professor Katherine Andrews, a parasitologist and the Pr…

Joining me today is Rob Mather, the CEO of The Against Malaria Foundation (AMF). Earlier this year, he was presented with a Points of Light certificate by Prince William, signed by Her Majesty the Queen.AMF fund anti-malaria nets, specifically long-lasting insecticidal nets, LLINs.Website: https://www.againstmalaria.com/This is Five Minutes with Ro…

Access to healthcare in some remote parts of Africa can be extremely limited, with the nearest health facility located hours away. For mothers of children with severe malaria, this can put their child’s life at risk. But now a London-based international organisation is trying to change that. Transaid is using bikes in remote villages to transport p…

Joining me today is Sally Edgar from a London-based digital agency AV Studios. They've worked with numerous clients in the education and public health sectors over the course of 20 years, creating animations, designing websites and launching quizzes. I'm keen to know what makes a public health animation effective and, as the NHS introduces an onlin…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Margaret Reilly McDonnell, the Executive Director of Nothing But Nets discusses the importance of mosquito nets, the growing issue of insecticide resistance and cuts to foreign aid.This is Five Minutes with Margaret Reilly McDonnel…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Joining me today are Dr Mike Coleman and Kirsten Duda of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. They work for ETCH which stands for Engaging Tools for Communication in Health.They’ve helped to create an app called Resistance 10…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Today’s episode is brought to you live from Durham University where I met with Professorr Steve Lindsay to discuss his work in developing a new type of bed net.His research has hit the headlines, with coverage from The Telegraph, T…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Today I’m delighted to be joined by Professor Archie Clements who is Pro Vice-Chancellor of Health Sciences at Curtin University in Australia.He’s also an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, having received over $28 million in research f…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Since the New York Times published a story detailing allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein in October of last year, there’s been a surge in feminism and the fight for equality.There have been huge societal shift…

Welcome back to Five Minutes, the podcast series where we speak to the most interesting people in the world of malaria.Today I’m really excited to be joined by Dr Michelle Wykes all the way from Brisbane, Australia.She runs the Molecular Immunology unit at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and has been focusing on trying to improve the immu…

In this episode of Five Minutes, we speak with Thomas Stewart, a Programme Manager from The Mentor Initiative. He tells us about his work in malaria control and why it's now more important than ever to eliminate malaria.This is Five Minutes with Thomas Stewart.

In this episode of Five Minutes, we speak with Professor Jake Baum of Imperial College London. He has been thrust in the spotlight for what the 'Independent' is calling a 'major malaria breakthrough'.His team is working on trying to find a set of compounds that stop mosquitoes from contracting malaria when they bite an infected person.A set of comp…

In this episode of Five Minutes, we speak with a representative from the PMI VectorLink Project.The project is equipping countries to plan and implement sustainable Indoor Residual Spraying programs and other life-saving malaria control interventions. PMI stands for the President’s Malaria Initiative and was established in 2005. The organisation wo…

In this episode of Five Minutes, we speak with Cheyenne Cook of the Vector LearningXChange Platform.The site has been designed for vector control stakeholders from around the world to learn from each other about the most effective ways to prevent malaria. Think of it as the Facebook of malaria control programmes.You can view all of the details abou…