Leaders Push For Accelerated Fight Against Malaria In Africa

Contacts:
In Senegal: Mademba Ndiaye: (221) 637 8923
mademba@worldbank.org;

In Washington: Tim Carrington (202) 473 8133

tcarrington@worldbank.org;

In Paris: Anne M. Davis Gillet: (33 1) 4069 3166

DAKAR, September 15, 2006—Leaders in Africa’s fight against malaria concluded a four-day meeting here with a call for accelerated efforts to resolve bottlenecks that have slowed progress so far, and appealed to global funding sources to support high-performing country programs to increase prevention and treatment.

The conference “Striking Back at Malaria by Accelerating Country Action in Sub-Saharan Africa,” brought together international organizations, policymakers, the private sector and civil society representatives. Participating organizations included the Word Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

During the conference, participants from 17 country malaria programs in Africa worked to identify funding and technical gaps in reaching shared objectives, particularly the agreed goal of reaching 80% of affected populations with effective treatment and prevention by the year 2010. Issuing what they called the “Dakar Appeal,” participants in the conference said, “What Africa’s children need is action now. They need real targets to be met.”

Yaw Ansu, director of human development for the Africa Region of World Bank, underscored the urgency of bringing down the burden of malaria, which hits Africa harder than any other region, accounting for about 1 million deaths each year. “Malaria imposes a massive burden on the health sector, and it is the single biggest killer of children in Africa,” he said. “We cannot continue business-as- usual. We have identified certain key problem areas, and where if we can get a handle on them, it’ll help us accelerate.”

During the conference, a number of participants provided evidence of progress. For example, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. reported that an integrated malaria control program in the area of Obuosi, Ghana led to a massive reduction in cases.  Similarly, the malaria control program in Eritrea has met 2010 targets four years ahead of schedule.

Replicating those successes will require more efficient procurement of medicines and prevention materials, along with distribution systems that reach rural communities and marginalized segments of society, which are often most at risk. “Scaling up for impact isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity,” said Maryse Pierre-Louis, who heads the Bank’s anti-malaria efforts in Africa.

Conference participants endorsed the principle that countries with well-constructed programs for reducing malaria, and a record of achieving results in fighting the disease, shouldn’t be held back by a lack of resources. Partners plan to hold a program review by early next year where they will validate anti-malaria plans from countries showing progress with existing resources and the potential to do much more with expanded support.

Country malaria leaders pushed for increased donor coordination, particularly in the area of monitoring and evaluation, where malaria programs currently end up reporting different data to different international partners. The conference also addressed procurement bottlenecks, and agreed to provide countries the option of pooled procurement approaches that may reduce delays and cut costs in acquiring needed medications, mosquito nets and other so-called commodities in the fight against the disease.

Civil society organizations at the conference put strong emphasis on transparency, stressing that  local communities and advocacy groups need current and accurate information on what countries are spending to protect populations from malaria, and what results they have achieved. Similarly, participants agreed that international organizations needed to be accountable for providing promised technical and financial support.  The conference agreed on the need for a single tracking system that would follow, and make public, disbursements and results among country anti-malaria programs across the region.

Awa Coll-Seck, Executive Secretary of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, concluded that “We all want to reach these objectives—we have to strengthen the systems we have and we have to train the personnel.” She underscored the centrality of working in partnership, and tracking results toward the agreed-to objectives.

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