Are ending malaria and saving the environment competing goals? That’s the tough question biology and health researchers at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda are discussing, according to a new Boston Globe article. 

While Ugandan wildlife – specifically national forests and Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake – continues to suffer from desertification, pollution and other causes, experts grow increasingly concerned over the use of DDT to control malaria. DDT can be effective in killing mosquitoes, but there remains concern over its effect on the environment. So can both problems be solved? 

The answer is yes, say researchers, as long as governments take long-term approaches and use DDT as little as possible. By continuing to provide bed nets and anti-malaria drugs, and engaging citizens in managing water sources in their communities, we can help to eliminate malaria – and also eliminate the need for DDT.

Project Rwanda and Malaria No More have delivered 50 cargo bikes to the Rukara village in the eastern province of Rwanda, enabling health workers from the Rukara Health Facility to provide prevention and treatment tools to individuals and families in remote areas of the country. 

This collaboration, which was funded by ExxonMobil, illustrates yet another great initiative that supports existing African infrastructures in their mission to end malaria.

In a June 23 interview with Ray Suarez on the PBS NewsHour Insider Forum, Michele Moloney-Kitts, assistant U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy, discussed President Obama’s $63 billion global health initiative and its potential implications.

Lubinski noted that while President Obama plans to build on PEPFAR, President Bush’s successful initiative to fight HIV/AIDS, the current budget does not provide enough funding for crucial programs. According to Lubinski, the proposed $63 billion health initiative would “shortchange” the already existing program to fight AIDS, TB and malaria as well as other issues. 

While the Obama administration recognizes current budget constraints, it looks to increase resources for more efficient public health programs, for example by coordinating PEPFAR with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

To learn more about these initiatives and to voice your opinion, contact your elected officials and ask them to support the fight against malaria.

The Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) has significantly decreased the risk of child deaths on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, reports The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 

The project, which aims to reduce malaria deaths among children under five years of age and pregnant women, is a collaboration between the Marathon Oil Corporation, Noble Energy, GEPetrol, SONAGAS, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial Guinea and others. Designed by Medical Care Development International (MCDI) and sponsored by the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), it has successfully increased child survival after four years of implementation. 

This project exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships in the fight against malaria. According to His Excellency Francisco Pascual Obama Asue, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial Guinea:

Equatorial Guinea is proud to have created an exemplary partnership and a malaria intervention model for the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Through continued partnerships between corporations, NGOs and governments, we can work together to end malaria deaths by 2015.

Nigerian Minister of Health Professor Babatunde Osotimehin is working to fight malaria, the leading cause of death in Nigeria, as part of a larger movement to improve the struggling health care system. 

The Nigerian government aims to end malaria deaths by 2010 by implementing an integrated program that includes providing two insecticide treated nets to all households, free malaria treatment in public health facilities, residual indoor spraying multiple times a year, and public education about the important of bed nets and how to use them correctly. It will also increase community sanitation efforts. 

Minister Osotimehin notes that the country currently has access to resources and funding for the campaigns, and expresses optimism in attaining additional grants within the next few years. Continued support of these programs will enable the government to curb malaria prevalence and focus on other important health care issues that need to be addressed.

The Tanzanian Ministry for Health and Social Welfare has launched a new program to end malaria. Consisting of multiple sustainable strategies, the program seeks to provide mosquito nets to people nationwide and to ultimately stamp out malaria.

The Underfive Catch-Up Campaign will distribute 7.2 million mosquito nets to children younger than five throughout the country, while another strategy aims to distribute two free mosquito nets to each household. Additionally, the government will continue a program that subsidizes long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets for pregnant women.

According to Dr. Aisha Kigoda, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Welfare in Tanzania, these strategies will attempt to make malaria history. But they can’t do it alone. By supporting the international community and efforts to end malaria, we can ensure that programs like these will continue to receive funding and make a difference.

Following Buzzwordsand he launch of the Senegal Surround Sound Campaign (a multi-faceted effort to raise awareness and end malaria deaths.)

Some big names were out over the weekend to celebrate the launch and we will be following the team as things get ramped up over the coming months.

Malaria received $585 Million at the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations bill markup on June 17th.  Essentially, this represents a good start. 

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) expected to receive $500 Million in 2010 and it appears that we have reached that threshold.  This increase of roughly $200 Million represents an approximate increase of 36% in malaria funding and it lines up with what the President asked for in his budget request.

This demonstrates solid commitment on the part of the White House and Congress for malaria and in this economic climate should be viewed as a positive.  This does not include any money malaria would receive from the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.  

The next steps are for funding to be approved by the full Appropriations Committee and then the Senate will also have a run at State and Foreign Operations Funding.  Finally, the Appropriations bill will go to a conference to work out any differences between the House and the Senate. 

However, the Global Fund received $700 Million in funding, that represents a lower figure than what was expected (the expectation was $900 Million). Obviously, this is a disappointment, but work is already underway to increase the level of funding in the Senate.  Additionally, we expect another $300 Million from the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. 

Also, the war supplemental, which includes $100m for the Global Fund, just passed the Senate – which was the last hurdle for the bill.  This enables the U.S. to go to the G8 with this under its belt to encourage the other countries to step up, as well.

Last week, the Rotary Club of Seattle launched their Second Century Project to control malaria with the help of PATH, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that works to find global health solutions. This new malaria initiative will provide resources for a Zambian pilot program that provides bed nets to remote areas of the country. Other African countries will then launch similar programs with the help of Rotary clubs around the world.

This collaboration is a fantastic example of how different groups can work together to fight malaria in Africa. We are all advocates, and together we can make an even greater impact. By combining resources and efforts, we can work to end malaria deaths by 2015.

The World Health Organization announced Dr. Robert D. Newman as the new Directory of the Global Malaria Program. 

Previously, Dr. Newman was Deputy Chief for Science and Chief of the Program Implementation Unit in the Malaria Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before joining WHO.

Dr. Newman also served as the CDC Team Lead for the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) directing a staff of more than 45 public health professionals in Atlanta and 15 African countries. Dr Newman originally joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 2000. During his 9 years at CDC, Dr Newman was dedicated to advancing the science of preventing malaria during pregnancy and infancy in sub-Saharan Africa, and served as the principal investigator for numerous epidemiological studies and clinical trials.

The CDC efforts against malaria extend to several areas.  The CDC participates actively in global efforts against malaria, including work in malaria-endemic regions and countries.   The CDC often works in conjunction with local Ministries of Health and disease control partners. The CDC also works with multilateral and bilateral partners such as the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, WHO, UNICEF, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and others in order to provide policy development, program guidance and support, scientific research, and monitoring and evaluation of progress toward RBM goals.  Dr. Newman was an integral part of this work for the past several years. 

From 1998-2000, Dr Newman was Mozambique Country Coordinator for Health Alliance International, a non-governmental organization working on maternal-child health. He has served as a founding member of two large international research consortia, and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles on malaria and other infectious diseases. Dr Newman earned his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Williams College in 1988, his MD from Johns Hopkins University in 1993, and his MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Washington in 1998. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the University of Washington–Seattle Children’s Hospital in 1996, and stayed on to complete a National Research Service Award fellowship in General Pediatrics in 1998.

The Malaria Policy Center congratulates Dr. Newman on his appointment and looks forward to the work he will complete as Director.  We also hope to assist him in his efforts in whatever capacity we are able.