According to the U.N. Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, universal bed net coverage in Africa is within grasp. During a recent visit to the continent Mr. Chambers applauded malaria control operations and encouraged those in the field.

An important part of the visit was to see first-hand how bed net distribution was scaling up.

Mr. Chambers reported that bed nets are now available to an estimated 52 per cent of the endemic population across sub-Saharan Africa, offering protection to about 360 million people. In the past year alone, some 65 million treated nets have been delivered to the region.

“With only 16 months remaining until [Mr. Ban’s deadline of] 31 December 2010, we remain confident that universal coverage is within our grasp,” Mr. Chambers said today, according to a press release issued by his office.

Organizations like Malaria No More will continue to work to ensure the globe meets our universal coverage goals and steps that much closer to an end of malaria deaths.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside are working to create repellants for insects like malarial mosquitoes which more natural, safe chemicals.

A study in Nature magazine is revelaing their work up to this point and with a grant from the Gates Foundation they will continue to refine their process and eventually finalize a usable repellant that could change the way we keep the pesky bugs from bighting us. The science has to do with the smells we emit, mostly with carbon dioxide, that entice mosquitoes.

Other experts in the field of mosquito olfaction also recognize the potential. “This work clearly speaks to the idea that you can target these olfactory-driven sensors that lead to olfactory-driven behaviors, and perhaps misdirect insects away from crops and people—critical issues in terms of global health and agriculture,” says Laurence Zwiebel, a professor of biology and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the research. “I believe that we can find natural inhibitors of odorant receptors that mosquitoes use to do the things that we don’t like that they do.”

Cleary much must be done before something like this is in the field or on our store shelves but any new science and further understanding of how mosquitoes are attracted to us is helpful in our battles against malaria.

News is breaking in Angola that the U.S. government and the Global Fund are an important pair of partners working to reduce malaria deaths in that country.

Filomena Fortes of the health Ministry says the country is on target to eliminate deatsh from malaria by 2014 with increased bed net distribution and free or affordable drugs to treat the disease. “We are also optimistic that, judging from the results obtained over the last two years, until 2012, it will be possible for malaria not to be the main cause of death in the country”, she said.

It is important that we work with African leaders to find ways of pairing funding streams and partners to combat malaria.

According to a report published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases the toll that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) take on sub-Saharan Africa is significant with an estimated 500 million people suffering from these debilitating diseases.

Many NTDs are co-endemic with malaria in Africa. This relationship gives those of us that fight malaria an opportunity to partner with NTD advocates and see quality of life improve for millions of people. As we lift the burden of malaria off of Africa, she can thrive and fight other disease, build health systems that last and reach goals of development.

As Congressional recess has fully embraced August in DC we thought it would be good to bring you up to date on the budget as it concerns malaria projects and give you a snap shot of what remains to be done.

Global Health Initiative

As part of the President’s 2010 Budget, the Administration announced the framework for a new Global Health Initiative.  The Initiative includes strong and growing support for malaria programs, but also broadens its focus to include other global health challenges, including child and maternal health, family planning, and neglected tropical diseases.  The initiative also places increased emphasis on the importance of adopting a more integrated approach to fighting diseases and strengthening health systems.

To meet the commitments of Lantos-Hyde as well as Obama’s campaign commitments, the President’s budget invests $63 billion cumulatively over six years (2009-2014) for global health programs.  

GLOBAL HEALTH FUNDING (2009 TO 2014) 

Malaria Programs

The 2010 budget includes $762 million for malaria programs – a $201 million increase over FY2009 spending.  Most of that increase is directed toward the President’s Malaria Initiative which is allocated $585 million – a 36% increase over FY09 enacted levels of $382 million.  This amount comes very close to meeting the malaria community’s FY10 budget request of $800 million. 

The Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, however, did not see the increases the community hoped for.  The President’s budget request flatlined spending for the Global Fund at $900 million, consistent with the FY09 enacted levels.  This amount falls far short of the $2 billion requested by the Global Fund to meet expected country needs.  

Congressional Action

The House passed the spending bill for Foreign Operations July 9, 2009, meeting the President’s request for malaria of $585 for Malaria and $750 million for the Global Fund.  The House also passed the Labor, HHS Appropriations bill, including $300 million for the Global Fund.  This brings the total House passed funds for the Global Fund to $1.05 billion.   

Also on July 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill which included $585 million for malaria and $700 million for the Global Fund.  In addition, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $300 million for the Global Fund in the Labor, HHS Appropriations bill.  This brings the total Senate funding for the Global Fund to $1 billion — $100 million above the President’s request but $50 million below the House-passed total.  Both bills are awaiting consideration by the full Senate.

In an interview with Earth and Sky magazine, National Institute of Health Scientific Adviosr Joel Breman sees and end to malaria world wide by 2050. The eradication of malaria would be possible with new drugs and techniques to fight the disease.

According to Breman though, ending malaria is about more than science.

There’s also now interest in funding and tremendous amounts of support have come in through a number of coalitions, and advocacy and training of many of the people who both deliver the services and also research teams, which are constantly looking for new ways to counter this wily disease.

 

RESULTS executive director, Joanne Carter has been selected for the position of Board Member for the Developed Country NGO Delegation to the Global Fund Board.

“In its short lifespan, the Fund has served as a critically important model of country-led, demand-driven, outcome-based health investment that has already saved millions of lives. With all its imperfections and challenges, no other institution has done as much in a short time to invest strategically in the public sector; help open the door for civil society and affected communities to participate as real partners in both implementation and agenda setting; and address populations and issues too often ignored by affected-country governments and bilateral donors,” stated Carter.

Congratulations to Joanne and her collegues at RESULTS a nonprofit, grassroots citizen’s lobby working to create the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty.

Policy Center Managing Director Mark Green has an oped in the Washington Times today calling for members of both parties to be involved in foreign assistance reform.

Despite some initial positive steps by the Obama administration and Congress, a critical constituency is missing from the discussion: congressional conservatives. As a proud fiscal hawk and a true believer in the power of U.S. foreign assistance to lift lives and enhance alliances, I urge conservatives to get more engaged and embrace the opportunity this debate presents.

Saving lives in Africa is not a political platform and we recognize that our partners in the fight against malaria are not Democrats or Republicans, instead they are people of good will wanting to see and end to preventable deaths. Everyone should be at the table to reform the way policy is driven and everyone should be at the table when we end the scourge of malaria.

UN Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, announced while in Tanzania that The Global Fund is giving the counrty a $111 million grant to purchase bed nets.

The money will buy and pay for the distribution of some 14 million bednets helping Tanzania reach the UN’s 2010 goal of universal bed net coverage in Africa.

We are following the travels, on the ONE blog, of an influential group of Global Health leaders as they are in Tanzania. Today Gabrielle Fitzgerald of the Gates foundation highlights their visit to a regional hospital in Dar es Salaam.

While pointed out what types of cases come to the hospital, Gabrielle noted:

The drop in malaria cases is due to increased use of insecticide-treated nets, new anti-malarial medicines and better diagnostic tests.

We are excited to advocate for the distribution of those nets and will continue to work on the ground in Tanzania to make sure people know how to use them and seek treatment immediately when they show signs of malaria.