‘Malaria No More UK’ has been chosen by Sky as the recipient organization for the Sky Red Button Campaign during the UEFA Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United, which was shown on the Sky Sports Network this past week .   The Red Button campaign is based on viewers using their remote controls to learn about or contribute to various causes.   Sarah Kline, Executive Director of Malaria No More UK, wrote the following on the campaign in the The Independent. 

“The Charity will be working to reach these goals using a powerful blend of public fundraising, corporate partnerships and advocacy. Governments will be held to account on their commitments to fight malaria; in the UK, PM Brown pledged 20 million mosquito nets and the EU and G8 governments promised a total of 100 million mosquito nets, all by the end of 2010. The spotlight will also be shone on global leaders to ensure they fulfill funding commitments of $3.2 billion to tackling malaria, made at the UN high level event on the Millennium Development Goals in September 2008.

Ghana is the first priority country for support from Malaria No More UK. It is a country where the entire population is at risk from malaria and I witnessed the far reaching impact of the disease during a visit earlier this year. I visited hospital wards filled with tiny children suffering from malaria and met numerous families who had lost children to the deadly disease. But I also saw what a difference something as simple as a mosquito net can make. I visited a village where the chief fines anyone who does not use a mosquito net. Although the people there were extremely poor, they were using their nets, and no child had died of malaria in the past 3 years as a result. To blanket Ghana with mosquito nets, an estimated additional 3.8 million nets are required and a further 4 million need to be re-treated.” -Source, The Independent

AlertNet has a post today sounding the alarm on research that suggests that malaria testing is unreliable.

“As the need for rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) rises, manufacturers face the challenge of improving test standards while also increasing supply, says David Bell, head of malaria diagnostics at the Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics (FIND).

There is also a growing demand for tests that identify low levels of infection in people without symptoms, adds Bell. This follows a rise in health programmes that aim to eliminate malaria, not just treat patients. ”

As the market of rapid tests is unregulated certainly there could be lesser quality tests making their way into health care operations. How can governments or aid donor nations help ensure the integrity of malaria testing so that we can better treat those with the disease? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, signed a memorandum of understanding during the 36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC member states.  The Global Fund agreed to assist member countries in their fight against these three horrible diseases and the member countries pledged to work with the Fund. 

In an address before the CFM meeting, the Global Fund’s Executive Director, Professor Michel Kazatchikin, stated that one third of AIDS cases in the world are found in the OIC Member States. 

The OIC is just one more in a long line of  organizations that recognizes the need to work together across public and private sectors to improve global health.  These three diseases affect all people and all religions and that is why it is encouraging to see countries, people, and organizations agree to work towards alleviating the affects of these three diseases.  Groups like Islamic Relief, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision all contribute to fight disease and poverty across the globe.  And we need all of this cooperation and more.

Interesting news on Genome Web about a recent study looking for links between our genetic make up and perceptibility to malaria. Researchers genotyped Gambian children in order to see if there was a correlation or a gene that is more likely to fight off malaria.

Initial test indicated some associations but there remains to be more study and a wider test.

The research asks some interesting question on what we understand of malaria and how we fight it. It is reasearch like this, dedicated to solving the puzzle of this disease’s end, that we must encourage. Any route that leads to an end of malaria deaths is one that should be traveled.

Over at Buzzwords Emily is sharing some great news on new poll numbers out from Gallup. “Polls conducted in 23 sub-Saharan African countries reveal that, in most of these countries, more people reported having mosquito nets in their homes in 2008 than they did in 2006. The largest increase was in Benin, where the reported presence of mosquito nets increased from 44% to 79%.”

The news is welcome as we continue to make progress toward universal coverage of bed nets and eventually an end to malaria deaths.

Michael Gerson has a column today on the unique thing bringing faith leaders together in Nigeria – the fight against malaria. Muslims and Christians have bridged religious gaps to save lives and end the scourge of malaria.

Stopping malaria is a goal we know we can obtain but as Gerson points out “reaching these goals in Nigeria is improbable without the active cooperation of mosques and churches. Houses of worship are distribution points where no clinic exists. And the effective, consistent use of bed nets requires education — a perfect role for local, trusted religious leaders. So the sultan and the archbishop have launched an organization, the Nigeria Interfaith Action Association, to coordinate their efforts against malaria — a plank across the Muslim-Christian divide.”

The State Department has released a transcript of an recent interview by Secretary Clinton with Manelisi Dubase of South African Broadcasting Corporation.  The short exchange copied below give us an indication of the Administration’s view toward important aid programs benefiting life in Africa. Recognition of success in programs like PEPFAR, leaves us to recognize the success of malaria efforts. These efforts are important to the continued development of African nations and the health of millions of children every year.

QUESTION: And finally, where does Africa feature in President Barack Obama’s foreign policy? I haven’t heard either you or Barack Obama stating the position in regard to Africa very clearly.   

SECRETARY CLINTON: It is a very important aspect of our foreign policy, and you will hear more and more about that. You know, the President has decided to add a quick stop in Africa by going to Ghana after he goes to Egypt to address the Islamic world. That was done very deliberately. It is not a full trip. There are many important countries like your own that cannot be included at this moment.  

But the President wanted to send a very strong message that Africa is important to him; it is certainly important to me. I intend to take a trip to Africa later this year. And I see Africa as one of the most important priorities. It’s not only important personally to the President; it’s important strategically as to how we see the world. But we are in the process of developing our ideas and our approaches. There were some very positive developments in Africa over the last years. We don’t want to turn away from what good has been done both by Africans themselves and through programs like PEPFAR, for example, which has helped many countries combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS. But we want to be sure that when we put forth our policies, they are well thought out and they will have the positive results for Africa that we seek.

Last Friday, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership wrapped up its 16th Board meeting in Geneva. The diverse malaria community was well represented by all stakeholders including significant delegations from both the non-profit and private sectors. 

A recurring theme in both formal discussions and hallway chatter was growing concerns with grant delays at the Global Fund. It’s currently averaging 11 months from the point of board approval of grants until the money is actually released. This funding bottleneck will severely jeopardize country ability to move toward the Global Malaria Action Plan’s (GMAP) 2010 target of universal coverage. For Round 9, assuming timelines don’t change, country grants approved by the Board this November won’t receive funding until the final quarter of 2010. If we hope to continue aggressively toward our 2010 goal of universal coverage, we as a community need to think creatively about how to accelerate the lapse of time from board approval to funds disbursement.  As importantly, we need to ensure that donor commitments to support the Global Fund are upheld.

Concerns about the Global Fund’s timing as well as other bottlenecks were voiced by numerous Ministers of Health at a special session with the Board on Friday morning.  Over two dozen Ministers attended, highlighting important progress in their fight against malaria and challenges that still remain. 

During the course of the meeting, the Board took several important actions including adoption of key objectives for the GMAP workplan, which will guide the activities of the working groups, and approval of an MOU with the Global Fund to facilitate greater cooperation and data sharing.  

The emotional highpoint of the week came at the end of the meeting.  The Partnership gave a warm and heart-felt send off to Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia who is stepping down as chair. The level of respect and admiration for Tedros runs deep within the malaria community. He’s a proven leader who can get things done – even within a diverse constituency whose interests can diverge. To take his place as Chair, the Board unanimously elected the Minister of Health of Zambia.

I just saw a wonderful documentary called “GRANDMOTHER TO GRANDMOTHER: New York to Tanzania.” 

Now, first the disclaimer: “Grandmother” was filmed in Tanzania during my stint as ambassador, and part of the final section is actually set at my former residence in Dar es Salaam. What makes the film great is not the fact that my wife and kids make fleeting appearances on camera (I was actually back here in DC escorting President Kikwete to the White House), but the extraordinary story this film tells.

In “Grandmother,’ we see in very human terms the costs of poverty-enhanced health challenges. The despair, the disruption in the lives of our young people, etc. We are faced at the outset with the real question of who will raise our children when poverty and health challenges like HIV/AIDS have torn apart traditional family structures.

But we are also filled with hope as we see some wonderful grandmothers embrace a new role in lifting lives and building communities. It reminds us all why we need to care about threats like HIV and malaria, and it humbles us because people like Bibi Jann are giving so much to lift the condition of their fellow human beings.

The scenery of Tanzania is colorful and exotic (of course), but the human tale is what grabs you.

“Grandmother to Grandmother” was screened at Dartmouth last month, and will be shown at the Global Health Council’s 37^th Annual Conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on May 28. Copies can be ordered on the web.

Bloomberg is reporting on effort to curb the manufacture of impostor drugs in attempt to stop the mutation of a “superbug” form of malaria that is resistant to medications.

Funded by the Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization will begin a screening and treatment program in Asia to contain and and eliminate the resistant strain of malaria.

It is important that the malaria community ensures the quality of the tools being used to fight this disease to prevent wider infections and outbreaks. While diluting or manufacturing substandard drugs is lucrative for some it is a devastating act against humanity when put in the malaria context.

How can we better ensure the quality of drugs being used in the fight against malaria? Leave a comment with your thoughts and help us continue the conversation.