Africa’s Time is Now and Malaria’s Time is Up

First published in Jeune Afrique, October-November 2008 issue

No one can doubt that over the past few years, Africa has embarked on a path of unprecedented economic growth and social development. Several countries on the continent have made significant strides on delivering better education, health, and poverty reduction results. At the same time, African leaders have taken concrete steps toward improving governance, and have initiated reforms to boost trade and make the investment climate more attractive. Even though poverty has not been eradicated, the growth indicators, which show an average of 5.4% GDP per capita over the past decade, suggest an emergent continent on the path of securing a more prosperous future for its people.

This is unlikely to be sustained unless the productivity of Africa’s human capital is guaranteed.  The good news is that massive efforts by the international community and African countries themselves have resulted in thousands of lives being saved and many healthier. Still, millions of Africans die every year unnecessarily from entirely preventable causes. Malaria is one of these causes, a disease that infects more than 500 million people around the world, mostly women and children. Over 90 percent of the million worldwide annual deaths from malaria occur in Africa. This ruthless disease is estimated to cost the continent about US$12 billion a year in lost productivity. A growing Africa cannot afford this burden. There is no question that the progress already achieved will be seriously undermined if the magnitude of the disease continues at current levels.

Of all the issues Africa still faces, malaria is what one can call “a low hanging fruit”. Global partners and countries have seized the intense focus and energy around malaria by making a commitment to eliminate it from the continent. Our optimism and bold ambition are not unfounded.  We have effective medicines, bed nets and a wealth of knowledge being shared across countries and programs. We have the resources to take on regional interventions that cross borders, like the mosquitoes themselves. The international community, under the umbrella of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, has been mobilized – governments, NGOs, global organizations, research institutions, and the private sector are working together to halve malaria deaths by 2010. Artists worldwide are putting human voices and faces behind the numbers to make malaria resonate for those unaware of its impact.  Health workers in Africa are helping people affected by malaria and parents are increasingly taking more measures to protect themselves and their children. The war to eliminate this scourge is spreading.

African countries are leading this war, but they cannot do it alone. The global community needs to help Africa massively scale up malaria control efforts. Partners have entirely subscribed to this vision and will support African countries in their efforts to provide universal coverage with effective malaria control methods to the entire Sub-Sahara African population at risk of malaria.  As one of the three largest malaria control financiers, the World Bank is contributing significantly to the progress being made.  Through its Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa, the Bank has committed about US$470 million to malaria control efforts in Africa and plans to commit significantly more so that several countries can quickly ramp up their efforts to bring the disease under control. Responding to the urgency of the disease and with clear evidence of African countries’ commitment to doing something about it, other partners are also putting more resources on the table. The Global Fund provided more funding for malaria programs in its last round than ever before. The United Kingdom recently announced it would buy 20 million bed nets for Africa.

Increased funding is important and necessary, but it is not sufficient. The world needs to know about the progress made in the fight against malaria.  Action by African artists and musicians in this regard has been successful. The 2005 AFRICA LIVE: Roll Back Malaria Concert – a two-day stadium show in Dakar featuring seventeen of Africa's most celebrated musicians – reached the hearts and minds of more than a billion people in broadcast coverage worldwide We need to support more of these endeavors that show malaria’s human side. A faceless disease will not be enough to spark off the commitment needed to control it. 

We have before us an extraordinary window of opportunity to improve the future prospects for millions of people in Africa.  This opportunity may not come again. We have an obligation to turn the current momentum into concrete results, to help Africa defeat malaria.  Africa’s time is now and malaria’s time is up. Working together we will ensure that future generations stay alive to eat well, go to school, enjoy clean water and electricity, and fuel Africa’s transition into prosperity and sustained growth.