MINUTES TO DIE: DOCUMENTARY SCREENING & DISCUSSION

CIBIO-InBIO MOVIE SESSION

125,000 lives are lost following the interaction between humans and venomous snakes. Some 400,000 people each year suffer their own form of long-term misery – perhaps an amputation or disfigured limb. Antivenom is currently the only effective treatment for snakebites. People from most developed countries have access to good quality serums and comparatively exceptional care. However, people from Sub-Saharan Africa, India and Southeast Asia have no safe, affordable and effective antivenom supplies. In 2017 the World Health Organization added snakebite to its list of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). After years of being an ignored global health priority, snakebite now has a chance to receive similar levels of funding and advocacy afforded to other NTDs like dengue, rabies, river blindness and chagas disease. Directed by James Reid and produced by the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, the documentary "Minutes to Die” impressively describes the current snakebite problematic. With its eye-opening account of snakebite in the developing world, the documentary has relevance for public health, science and tech innovation, humanitarian aid, social justice, international relations, and more, as well as for those working in snakebite-afflicted regions in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Oceania, or Central or South America.

The documentary will be introduced by Fernando Martínez-Freiría (BIODESERTS, PHENEVOL) and Arie van der Meijden (AP, PHENEVOL) who are currently doing research on evolutionary biology and ecology of venomous snakes and scorpions. After the screening, a discussion session will be performed.

For more information, see http://minutestodie.com/

Image credits: http://minutestodie.com/