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Good afternoon,
Today is the first Africa Malaria Day in history.
It is a day to celebrate progress made, but above all to take stock of
the situation and map out clear objectives for the future.
One year ago, right here in Abuja, Heads of African
States and other senior government representatives launched a major
campaign against malaria. It was the first time that so many leaders
actually met to discuss just one illness.
This is because malaria remains a serious problem.
It bites into the development of Africa's people, and their nations.
It causes millions of people to lose earnings, opportunities to learn,
and chances to achieve their full potential. It kills at least one
million people a year and is a major barrier to development in Africa.
Malaria interacts with HIV/AIDS and other
infectious diseases, particularly in pregnancy. We need common, multi-sectoral
strategies to tackle malaria, HIV, TB and other related illness. These
depend on functioning health systems, which are made available to all
who need them through community as well as public sector, voluntary,
academic and private sector institutions.
All those Heads of State and their representatives,
one year ago, agreed on a plan of action to Roll Back Malaria. The
plan contained 4 main points:
- make sure that every family has access to insecticide-treated
nets;
- provide adequate and prompt treatment to all people affected by
malaria;
- ensure that all pregnant women have access to preventive
intermittent treatment;
- step up efforts to predict and control epidemics.
I am pleased to note that since the Abuja Summit,
21 countries have developed plans for multi-sectoral action to Roll
Back Malaria based on these strategic elements. Out of those four,
Roll Back Malaria placed particular emphasis on preventing malaria,
and concentrated on encouraging the widespread use of
insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
These nets, when properly used, really do make a
difference. A recent report from Tanzania shows that the introduction
of insecticide-treated bed-nets in a community of 480,000 people
reduced mortality by 25% in children under five.
Last week in Washington, where Roll Back Malaria
held its annual global meeting, the partners agreed that pregnant
women and their babies, the most vulnerable groups, should have access
to mosquito nets in the next year at a highly subsidized price.
One of the commitments made by governments in Abuja
last year was to reduce taxes and tariffs on nets and insecticides to
make them more affordable. We have a report here, produced for us by
Boston University, which reviews the situation of taxes and tariffs in
malaria-affected countries.
Five countries, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria,
Uganda and Zambia have taken bold action and changed their policies to
lower the price of treated nets. Tanzania has been a pioneer, as it
abolished taxes and tariffs as early as 1994.
There is also welcomed evidence of increased donor
support for malaria control, higher government spending, and more
commercial investment in malaria control technologies.
The World Health Organization has been involved in
negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the prices of
drugs in developing countries and make those medicines more readily
available.
With other Roll Back Malaria partners, we are also
addressing the threat of growing resistance to anti-malarial drugs by
developing policies on combination treatment and assisting national
malaria control programmes in changing their treatment guidelines.
Public-private partnerships are vital to this
effort. Roll Back Malaria is currently working with the Swiss
pharmaceutical company Novartis to provide people in malaria endemic
countries with the anti-malarial combination drug Coartem at
affordable prices. Work with companies has raised the possibility of
much reduced prices - in Africa - for artesunate-based combination
therapy that can tackle chloroquine-resistant malaria.
As we look ahead to the next year in this decade to
Roll Back Malaria, I anticipate a scaling up of efforts throughout the
continent of Africa. I know that many countries are working on
lowering the price of insecticide-treated nets. We must make sure that
all families can access them, and that all children and pregnant women
use them. I know that many countries are trying to ensure that the
right treatment is readily available to people - including those who
are poor and who live in rural areas. Health systems need to be tuned
up to meet the needs of populations affected by all infectious
diseases. I also urge the business community to keep up the momentum
and join as forcefully as possible in the fight against malaria and
other deadly diseases that are killing Africans in their young and
most productive years.
Thank you. |
