The World Bank Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa - Key Facts

The impact of malaria extends far beyond the realm of public health and exacts a broad toll on human and economic prosperity, making the disease central to the World Bank’s development agenda. The Progress Report on the Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa is a comprehensive summary of the successes and challenges of the first two years of the World Bank program.

The Problem

• Malaria kills more than one million people every year – most of them children under age five and pregnant women.
• Malaria kills nearly 3,000 children every day.
• In total, malaria is estimated to cost Africa about US$12 billion annually in lost gross domestic product (GDP), slowing GDP growth by as much as 1.3 percent per year.
• 90 percent of malaria deaths worldwide occur in Africa.
• Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease – half of these deaths could be avoided.

The World Bank Approach: The Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa

• The World Bank aims to commit $500 million in International Development Association (IDA) funding by late 2008 – the end of Phase I.
• The Booster Program achieves control of this devastating disease by delivering interventions and treatment strategies, while, at the same time, strengthening country health system infrastructure.
• The World Bank is working with partner organizations to achieve a 75 percent reduction in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2015.

Accomplishments of the Booster Program on the Ground

• Already the World Bank has committed more than $430 million to Booster projects. This reflects a nine-fold increase in IDA funding for malaria control in Africa
• A total of 15 Booster Program projects in 16 countries are Board-approved and two multi-donor trust funds in Sudan as well as two additional projects under preparation totaling nineteen projects in eighteen countries.
• Board-approved projects include the multi-country Senegal River Basin Booster project as well as a US$180 million malaria control funding package for Nigeria which is currently the largest malaria control effort in the country.
• By the end of 2007, the Booster Program will help distribute nearly 20 million long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and more than 15 million doses of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).
• In total, more than 21 million LLINs and over 42 million doses of ACT will be distributed under projects in the Booster Program’s first phase ending in 2008.