Program and Funding Organizations in the Fight against Malaria

There are three main financing mechanisms currently working towards making the eradication of malaria possible: The President's Malaria Initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa.

President's Malaria Initiative

The goal of PMI, which is a main component of the U.S. Global Health Initiative, is to reduce malaria-related mortality by 50% in 15 target countries - Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Mozambique, Malawi, Benin, Ghana, Mali, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, and Ethiopia. These countries were chosen due to their high malaria burden, effective National Malaria Control Program and strong national commitment to control malaria, as well as willingness to partner with the U.S. government. The PMI is an interagency initiative led by USAID, in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control. Partnerships are at the heart of PMI's strategy. By the end of five years, the program is expected to achieve 85% coverage of prevention, treatment, and malaria in pregnancy interventions, ultimately leading to the target 50% reduction in malaria-related deaths.

In April 2008, former First Lady Laura Bush announced the impressive results PMI had already achieved by its second year of operation, which included:

 

  • 6 million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets purchased; two thirds distributed
  • 17 million people protected by indoor residual spraying in 10 countries
  • 12 million ACT treatments purchased
  • 30,000 healthcare workers trained
  • overall, more than 25 million people benefitted from PMI interventions

 

By 2010, the funding level for the PMI has reached $500 million.. Through the PMI, the U.S. government has played a key role in the scale-up of malaria interventions by training healthcare workers, improving services, procuring commodities, and strengthening health systems.

To read the Malaria Policy Center's fact sheet on U.S. leadership and progress against malaria click Malaria Two Pager Final MNM.pdf

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund was created in 2002 to dramatically increase resources and channel money to the areas of greatest need. According to the 2010 Innovation and Impact Results Summary: "Ensuring value for money at every stage of the financing chain is a critical priority for the Global Fund." Its primary purpose is to attract, manage and disburse resources. It does not directly implement programs, but instead relies on a broad network of partnerships with other development organizations on the ground to supply local knowledge and technical assistance. The Global Fund addresses gaps in country efforts to fight these three diseases and to strengthen underlying health systems by financing programs that complement those of other donors, and to stimulate additional investments. The Fund finances programs developed by the recipient countries themselves. As of June 2010, the Global Fund has helped facilitate the distribution 122 million bed nets and 142.4 million malaria drug treatments.

By the end of 2009, the Global Fund had approved malaria grants worth US$ 5.3 billion. These programs are having a substantial impact on malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide. The Global Fund currently contributes two thirds of all international financing for malaria, supporting 175 malaria-specific programs in 83 countries. 

World Bank Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa

Launched in 2005 by the World Bank, the Booster Program was established to assist African governments in scaling up effective interventions to bring malaria under control on the continent. The program translates the Bank's global strategy for malaria control into a concrete plan within the framework of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, creating a ten-year horizon and supporting country-level efforts to deliver concrete and measurable results, break healthcare bottlenecks, and enhance progress towards achieving their national malaria control targets. The Booster Program has a two-pronged approach:

  • Supporting rapid scale-up of proven malaria control interventions; and
  • Supporting country efforts to build capacity within their national health systems by strengthening procurement and supply-chain capacity, monitoring & evaluation, and health planning.

The World Bank and partners have worked together to develop a Malaria Scorecard that tracks dollar investments and coverage progress for key interventions.