2024-03-27 08:16:16
The exhibition “Mission Malaria: a historical look” at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid presents the relationships between medicine, politics, research and public health. From ancient remedies to scientific discoveries, the exhibition traces the history of malaria, highlighting public health campaigns and advances in the fight against the disease.
One of the works from the Malaria Mission exhibition. CSIC image.
The museum of natural sciences (MNCN-CSIC) has inaugurated the temporary exhibition “Mission Malaria: a historical look”. This collection of objects by epidemiologist Quique Bassat and pieces from the MNCN and other institutions will be available to visit until September 22.
It is a journey through the history of the disease and situations are recalled such as the efforts that were carried out to bring to Europe a “miraculous bark” from the Peruvian Andes that cured fevers, to the discovery of the parasitic origin of malaria and mosquito role. Different public health campaigns that were carried out to combat the disease are also shown.
Image from the exhibition. Photograph provided.
The illness
Malaria is a disease that in 2022 alone cost the lives of 608,000 people. The vast majority were children from the African continent.
This pathology is caused by the presence in the blood of a parasite of the genus Plasmodium, which is inoculated into the bloodstream by the bite of a mosquito that acts as a vector. It is a disease that, without treatment, is almost always fatal.
“Malaria has been one of the main concerns of health professionals from ancient times to the present. It is essential that we do not forget that, in the 21st century, malaria continues to be a health emergency, especially in Africa. It can be prevented and also cured, so each of the thousands of deaths that occur every year because of them is truly unacceptable,” highlights Quique Bassat, general director of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) promoted by the Foundation. The Caixa”.
Malaria in history
The “Mission Malaria” exhibition offers an immersion in the interconnection between the history of the disease and humanity. It is curated by Matiana González Silva and Alain Paul Mallard.
The exhibition brings together a wide selection of historical images and more than 150 objects, including old books, medicine bottles and hygiene propaganda.
From European colonial expansion to World War II, the exhibition reveals the strategic role of different anti-malaria medicines in various historical contexts. They include scientific research in Algeria and India and public health campaigns in Italy, Spain and Panama.
At the opening of the exhibition, leaders in health and research emphasized the importance of addressing malaria. Some of them were the Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla and the director of the MNCN Rafael Zardoya.
Furthermore, the presence of representatives of GSK, main sponsor of the exhibition, the commitment of the pharmaceutical industry to finding solutions to combat this disease that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations was highlighted.
Photo from left to right, Alain-Paul Mallard, independent curator of the exhibition; Matiana González Silva, curator of the exhibition and coordinator of the IS Global Malaria Elimination Initiative; Quique Bassat, general director of IS Global; Cristina Henríquez de Luna, president and CEO of GSK Spain; Javier Padilla, Secretary of State for Health; Carlos Juan Closa, vice president of Organization and RR II of the CSIC; Rafael Zardoya, director of the National Museum of Natural Sciences; Charlotte Fraser-Prynne, Partner at iPg; Pilar López, vice director of Communication and Scientific Culture of the National Museum of Natural Sciences. Image provided.
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