World Malaria Day: Resource Round-up

Here is a condensed version of an email I received today from my friend and colleague, Sarah, our Manager of Health Programs, in honor of World Malaria Day, April 25. World Malaria Day is a day set aside to call attention to this disease and to mobilize action to combat it. While this disease may not be an issue you are passionate about, the burden of malaria impacts us all through economics, tourism, and foreign aid.  I hope the links below help convince you why malaria is a subject which should be kept on the international conversation.  Let's remember how fortunate we in America are to not have to live with this constant threat of disease.

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Please allow me to provide you with a set of background documents (below) you may find useful, including:

•     Selected media coverage
•     Global WMD observance events

As you are aware, commemorations are taking place in both endemic and donor countries around the world today. In these events, partners will highlight the considerable progress reached in the last decade, including:

• In 2010 malaria prevention efforts saved 485 children’s lives in Africa every day.
• The last decade has seen over one third of malaria endemic countries successfully cut malaria cases by 50% or more.
• Global malaria deaths dropped by over 20% between 2000-2009.

And yet, malaria remains a serious threat to many people:

• Malaria continues to kill more young children than any other single disease, claiming the life of a child every 45 seconds.
• Every year, over 780,000 people die from malaria. More than 90% of these deaths are in Africa.
•  Yet malaria is preventable and treatable. Every life lost is needless.

Through these events, partners will also focus their advocacy on the landmark 2015 goal of near zero deaths from malaria—a goal that can only be achieved with sustained investment in proven interventions along with research and development of new tools, including:

•  Increased, predictable and sustained funding critical in continuing to save lives and sustain current gains – we will backslide if momentum is lost.
• Improved access to malaria prevention, accurate diagnostics and appropriate treatment – saving lives and reducing the risk of drug resistance.
• Further investment in research and development of new tools.

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KEY POLICY DOCUMENTS

·          UN Resolution on the Decade to Roll Back Malaria



SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE

·          Financial Times Special Report on Combating Malaria

·          Yvonne Chaka Chaka, RBM Goodwill Ambassador on the DFiD BLOG as of April 26

·          Awa Marie Coll-Seck, RBM Executive Director, on the GATES FOUNDATION BLOG as of April 22



SELECTED EVENTS

·          UNITED NATIONS, Geneva -- Global Press Conference on malaria: Awa Marie Coll-Seck joined Dr Pascal Ringwald (Medical Officer at WHO/GMP) and David Reddy (CEO Medicines for Malaria Venture) in briefing the UN press corps in Geneva about how to reach near zero malaria deaths by 2015. (April 21)

·          REPUBLIC of LIBERIA, Monrovia -- Liberia will host a World Malaria Day Regional event in West Africa in the presence of Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - who has recently agreed to serve as Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance ( ALMA ) for 2011 - 2012. (April 25)

·          UNITED NATIONS, New York -- Launch of a unique photo exhibition entitled Champions to End Malaria with photographs by Platon in the presence of the UN Secretary General. (April 25 - May 22)

·          FRANCE, Paris -- French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs: Exhibition at the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris to raise awareness and inform the general public about the challenges and the progress made in the fight against malaria. (April 21 - 25)

·          SWITZERLAND, Bern -- The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is hosting a multimedia exhibition offering a fascinating insight into the complexity of malaria and its consequences. It highlights the approaches used by members of the Swiss Malaria Group to meet the challenges of this disease. (April 26 - May 7)

·          UGANDA & MADAGASCAR -- Both countries will promote their countries' roll out of the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) which provides a novel approach to increasing access to ACTs on a multi-national scale.

·          FULL LIST of Partner events