Washington D.C. (September 22, 2017) - Malaria No More welcomes the expansion of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the leading U.S. Government body working to prevent and control malaria across the globe that has directly saved the lives of 1.7 million children and has overall contributed to saving nearly 7 million lives since its creation in 2005.
Announced yesterday by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green during “The Role of Country Leadership in Accelerating Global Malaria Elimination,” at the United Nations, the U.S. will launch new programs in Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Niger, and Sierra Leone, while expanding its program in Burkina Faso. The expansion will help further strengthen healthcare systems and bring more core malaria-fighting tools, including life-saving bed nets, anti-malarial treatments, and diagnostic tests, to an additional 90 million people at risk of malaria.
“The reality, as we all know, is we will never have enough money as nations to do everything that we would like to do. We have to make choices and we have to prioritize. We in the U.S. government choose to prioritize the fight against malaria,” said Administrator Green. “We hope this expansion builds up a resounding success in Africa.”
In 2005, when President George W. Bush created PMI and the U.S. Congress began committing substantial funding to fight malaria, nearly 1 million children and pregnant women were dying from malaria each year. During the past decade, smart investments by PMI have helped reduce malaria deaths of young children by more than half.
“PMI is one of the best examples of effective aid and partnership between the United States and countries in Africa,” said Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More. “Expanded commitment from the United States will enable us to build on the historic health and economic gains we’ve made, and put Africa on the path to achieving its stated goal of malaria elimination.”
Africa carries the highest malaria burden, accounting for 195 million of the 212 million, or 90 percent, of new malaria cases globally, and 394,000 deaths in 2015.
Yesterday’s announcement follows President Donald J. Trump praising U.S. leadership in humanitarian assistance and investments in the fight to end malaria. “The United States continues to lead the world in humanitarian assistance,” said President Trump during his first speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. “We have invested in better health and opportunity all over the world through programs like PEPFAR, which funds AIDS relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative, and the Global Health Security Agenda.”
This new U.S. Government commitment to fighting malaria will help protect more than 330 million people at risk across the west-to-central African corridor from Senegal to Cameroon.
“The tireless efforts of the Ministry of Public Health and its partners in Cameroon has helped reduce malaria child morbidity by nearly 50 percent in highly endemic northern regions,” said Olivia Ngou, Cameroon Country Director for Malaria No More. “Protecting the more than 22 million Cameroonians at risk of malaria remains a public health priority. The arrival of PMI will help accelerate our progress and save more children and pregnant women from this deadly disease.”
For more information or interview requests, contact Michal Fishman at +1 504-220-2792 or Michal.Fishman@MalariaNoMore.org.
