Newsweek Video journalist Tammy Haddad happened upon the Malaria No More Malaria Champions breakfast and caught up with Forest Whitaker on the importance of fighting malaria.

We are tracking some news over on Buzzwords that the Malaria Elimination Group  (MEG) has released a new report that “provides a road map on the operational, technical and financial considerations for those working on the front lines of malaria control and elimination.”

The report will provide policy makers in capitols around the world, as well as buisness leaders and those working in the field, the latest resources in order to maintain an informed approach to eliminating malaria.

To read the report, “Guide on Malaria Elimination for Policy Makers“ and a complementary report, “Shrinking the Malaria Map: A Prospectus on Malaria Elimination,” visit the MEG website.

Chairman Donald Payne of New Jersey is the second malaria champion that the policy center would like to highlight this week.  He was another one of the Malaria Champions who was honored last Thursday. 

Congressman Payne is the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. Payne’s leadership on humanitarian issues in Africa is exemplary.  He was one of five members of Congress that accompanied President Clinton and former first lady, now Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on their six country tour of Africa. 

Payne Also joined his fellow members of Congress on the International Relations Committee to introduce a measure to strengthen the Microenterprise Act.  Microenterprise provides very small business loans to people in developing nations.  Fifty percent of these loans are directed to those who make less than $1 a day. 

In addition to all of this, Chairman Payne is also a strong leader on the issue of malaria.  Payne is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Malaria Caucus.  In that capacity, he works to raise awareness and advocate for more funding to fight this deadly disease.  For all of these efforts, we salute Chairman Payne and encourage other policymakers to follow his example.

An op-ed published in the Hill and authored by Chairman Don Payne and Rep. John Boozeman recognizes that malaria can be defeated and we need to maintain the political will to see our efforts through.

The co-chairs of the Congressional Malaria Caucus have been consistent leaders in the fight against malaria and are working to add to their ranks. An excerpt is below:

“The U.S. has done a great deal already on malaria. We can and must do better. It is in our best interest to defeat conditions that produce despair and can be exploited by extremists.

“Fortunately, we have the tools to stop malaria in its tracks. Spraying homes with insecticides in targeted areas and providing families insecticide-treated bed nets to sleep under are methods to prevent malaria. We must also work to increase the availability of medicines that treat malaria.

“These simple steps will help us eradicate malaria deaths by 2015. This is a very attainable goal. We have seen success in Ethiopia where the cases of malaria fell 60 percent and the deaths decreased by 51 percent in just two years. In Zanzibar, malaria in school children was reduced from 60 percent to about 1 percent. These are excellent results and we are building on this momentum.

“In the time it took you to read this, a child died from malaria. We can stop this tragedy from continuing. Programs like the president’s Malaria Initiative and Global Fund are actively working to get rid of malaria and we can support their efforts to rid the world of this devastating disease.”

World Vision has been doing a great job of fighting malaria with boots on the ground in Africa and a strengthening advocacy voice; the organization is also a great partner of Malaria No More.

Here at the Policy Center we have just started working through a new paper from World Vision’s Craig Jaggers, MPH. “Expanding the Net: How community initiatives and local participation improve the effectiveness of malaria control efforts” takes a look at how local buy-in and action is expanding the reach of anti-malaria efforts.

Congratulations to World Vision for giving us the data and encouraging continued work. Check out “Expanding the Net.”

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with a number of NGO advocates and a media outlet looking to do a better job in covering Global Health issues. It was interesting to listen as each of us advocated and was passionate about “our” issue. Of course mine was malaria and fighting the scourge that claims 3000 lives a day. But each of us could argue that our cause was one that needed more attention.

There are any number of those arguments to be made and malaria serves as an interesting center for combating a number of issues, we have the tools to end the disease, when it is defeated resources and medical facilities can focus on other issues, and adding $12 billion to an economy can do a lot in the way of infrastructure. 

This will be on an ongoing struggle though, which cause is the greatest, and we must remain vigilant in fighting a number of the evils in our world. The conversation is uniqely timed as the world attempts to understand and determine how to protect populations from Swine Flu.

Can we learn lessons on how to prevent and protect against this newly “popular” disease from our efforts to end deaths from diseases like malaria? I think so, what do you  think?

This past Thursday, the Malaria Policy Center honored three key policy makers for their leadership in the fight against malaria.  One of these was Congressman John Boozman of Arkansas.  Congressman Boozman is Co-Chair of the Congressional Malaria Caucus.  The Malaria Caucus aims to raise awareness of the United States’ and the international community’s fight against the malaria epidemic and to support increased efforts to that end. 

Congressman Boozman is also cosponsor of a House Resolution that supports the goals and ideals of Malaria Awareness Day which occurs annually on April 25th.  Boozman frequents various malaria awareness events and continues to strive towards raising the public’s consciousness about this awful disease.

“Serving on the Africa and Global Health Subcommittee I have had the opportunity to travel to Africa on several occasions, the latest just three weeks ago. I have seen first hand the devastation malaria causes the young and the poor. The good news is that this disease is preventable, treatable and curable, but it will take the efforts of countries worldwide to stop the tragedy from continuing, and I am committed to working to make that happen.” Boozman said this past week.  

Leadership, such as Congressman Boozman’s, is a crucial component in the success we’ve seen in places like Ethiopia and Zanzibar.  We need champions like Boozman in Congress to continue to point to the success of programs like the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund.

In Case You Missed It: Mark Green, Driector of the Malaria Policy Center, was on Fox And Friends Saturday, commemorating World Malaria Day and reminding viewers that getting involved and saving lives is as easy as buying a $10 bed net.

Also mentioned in the segment was President Obama’s commitment to keeping the United States in a position as a global leader in the fight against malaria and the Malaria Policy Center will work in Washington to ensure we fully fund malaria programs and end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reaffirmed the United State’s committment to ending malaria deaths by 2015.  Secretary Clinton has long been a tireless advocate for malaria issues and I applaud her efforts to raise awareness and fight this awful disease.  Secretary Clinton stressed the harm that malaria causes children and pregnant women.  Together, she believes that we can fight this awful disease with the proven and effective tools we already have.  With strong leadership from individuals like Secretary Clinton, I believe that we can as well.

Malaria No More’s Kate Campana was highlighted in the Financial Times today on NetGuarantee, program to provide bridge funding for projects waiting on promised money.

This is another example of innovation in the face of this disease. It is efforts like these that will make malaria no more.