A young Rwandan girl receives
a PSI distributed mosquito net.
NEW YORK – On World Malaria Day, April 25th, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon challenged the world to eliminate deaths from malaria as quickly as possible.
“In recent years, several African countries have made dramatic strides in malaria control, but the most affected nations remain off track to reach the goal of halting and reversing the incidence of the disease,” said the Secretary-General, joined at the UN by leaders in global health. Malaria continues to kill more than one million people a year, mostly children and pregnant women in Africa. “As we pass the mid-point in the race towards the Millennium Development Goals, we desperately need to step up our efforts to roll back malaria,” he continued.
As a concrete step toward ending malaria deaths, the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, announced a bold but achievable vision — that PSI will be closely involved in reaching — for universal coverage of essential malaria control measures in Africa by December 31, 2010, including:
- Long-lasting insecticidal bed nets or appropriate indoor-residual household spraying for the entire at-risk population;
- Public health facilities providing effective malaria treatment and diagnosis, with rapid expansion of effective treatment at the household level;
- Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) for pregnant women in high malaria transmission areas.
PSI is increasingly seen as one of the key implementing partners within the global RollBack Malaria Partnership due to our core technical competency combined with operational capacity in more than 32 malaria endemic countries. As an organization, we are at the cutting edge in terms of malaria treatment and diagnosis at community level and have decades of experience delivering insecticide-treated mosquito nets through multiple channels.
“Understandably, we are tremendously excited about the secretary general’s statement and the appointment of Ray Chambers as the first UN special envoy for malaria,” said Chris White, PSI’s malaria advocacy and communications adviser. “Reaching the Abuja targets by the end of 2010 with both preventive and curative interventions will not be easy. It is an ambitious goal. However, it is also one that the global community must strive to achieve. PSI stand ready to support the acceleration and expansion of current endemic country malaria control efforts in over 32 countries.”
The Secretary-General’s call for universal coverage launches an all-out international initiative to expand our fight against malaria. “This challenge is a clarion call to hurry up and eliminate malaria deaths,” said Mr. Chambers. “The Secretary-General is exhorting all partners to accelerate the pace over the next 1,000 days to achieve universal coverage. Unlike past efforts, we now have the resources, the knowledge, and, I think, the will and determination to achieve this bold goal.”
Additionally, the UN Secretary-General called on partners to expand the delivery of malaria control interventions —including through community health workers, NGOs and faith-based organizations—and to lay the groundwork for the eventual elimination. Mr. Chambers said that this effort will also require expanded monitoring and evaluation efforts and increased funding for research and development.
“We have the resources and the know-how, but we have less than 1,000 days before the end of 2010,” said the Secretary-General. “So we urgently need your leadership and commitment. Let’s get to work.”
