How can we eliminate malaria? episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 31, 2025 · 26 MIN

How can we eliminate malaria?

from Health Check · host BBC World Service

In the past decade there has been little progress in lowering malaria cases, with over half a million people still dying from the mosquito-borne disease every year. We look at the big ideas and innovations of the future that could help us eliminate malaria once and for all. What would happen if we got rid of the insect responsible for spreading the malaria parasite? Claudia heads to Imperial College London where she is joined by Dr Federica Bernardini and their 120 colonies of mosquitos to find out how revolutionary genetic technologies are aiming to do just that.Picking up on Imperial’s work in the field is Principal Investigator at Target Malaria in Uganda, Dr Jonathan Kayondo. His job is to understand what it would mean to release these modified mosquitos into the wild.Looking at the existing tools that need levelling up is Dr Rob Moon, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Dr James Tibenderana, Chief Executive at the Malaria Consortium. Alongside Claudia they look at the next generation of vaccines and the importance of accessible rapid diagnostic tests.But is all this going to be enough to eliminate malaria? Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 31, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

How can we eliminate malaria?

0:00 26:30

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Health Check?

This episode is 26 minutes long.

When was this Health Check episode published?

This episode was published on December 31, 2025.

Can I download this Health Check episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!