Washington, D.C., April 10, 2018 - Malaria No More congratulates Dr. Kenneth Staley on being named the next U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator of the United States President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the leading U.S. Government entity working to prevent and control, and ultimately end, malaria across the globe.
“We commend the Administration for filling this position, which is vital to advancing U.S. leadership, saving millions of lives from malaria, and boosting the economies of malaria-affected countries,” said Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More. “Dr. Staley has a strong track-record of protecting U.S. citizens and advancing U.S. global health security, and we look forward to working with him at this critical juncture in the malaria fight. We also commend Irene Koek, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health, for her effective stewardship of PMI in the interim.”
Dr. Staley previously served in the U.S. State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counterproliferation from 2008-2009 and was Director for Biodefense Policy at the White House Homeland Security Council from 2005-2008. He also has extensive experience working in the private sector on international health issues. As Global Malaria Coordinator, Dr. Staley will be responsible for the oversight and coordination of all U.S. funding and activities relating to efforts to combat malaria. His work on biodefense and pandemic preparedness is a strong complement to PMI’s focus. In addition to reducing deaths from malaria and helping end extreme poverty, PMI’s work contributes to improving global health security by expanding health system and laboratory capacity as well as surveillance and early diagnosis of malaria.
Since its inception under President George W. Bush in 2005, and with strong bipartisan financial support and leadership from Congress, PMI has directly saved the lives of 1.7 million children and has overall contributed to saving nearly 7 million lives. In September 2017, USAID Administrator Mark Green announced that PMI was expanding to five new countries in Africa. The expansion helps to protect an additional 90 million people from malaria, and extends PMI’s total reach in Sub-Saharan Africa to 24 focus countries and approximately 570 million people as well as three critical programs combating anti-malarial drug resistance in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Dr. Staley is assuming leadership of PMI at a critical time. According to the World Malaria Report 2017, the global malaria fight is at a crossroads. For the first time in a decade, progress towards ending the disease has stalled. Malaria affected around 216 million people globally in 2016, an increase of five million cases over the previous year and deaths from malaria are no longer falling at a precipitous rate.
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For more information or interview requests, contact Michal Fishman at +1 504-220-2792 or Michal.Fishman@MalariaNoMore.org
