January 31st, 2011
Four African Leaders Honored for Accelerating Access to Life Saving Prevention and Treatment
African Leaders Malaria Alliance Recognizes Leaders of Guinea, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – 31 January 2011 –At a high-level meeting of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) during the 16th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, four African heads of state and government have received awards for their exemplary leadership in accelerating and sustaining access to malaria control and treatment commodities.
Recipients of the award are the leaders of nations that have banned the importation and use of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies, which cause drug resistance that weakens the effectiveness of recommended malaria treatments; and additionally have removed tariffs on essential commodities used in the fight against malaria. Recipients of the 2011 ALMA Award for Excellence are the heads of state of Guinea, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania and the ALMA Chair said, “In the last few years, our continent has seen unprecedented scaling up of effective interventions against malaria. Working together with national and international partners, we have effectively demonstrated that we can win this war, and that we are committed to doing so.”
While acknowledging the progress to date, ALMA leaders will continue to work towards overcoming barriers to effective malaria control in all countries, by addressing eight principle action areas.
- Promoting and accelerating the financing of sustainable malaria interventions in partnership with the United Nations (UN), African Ministers of Health, African Ministers of Finance, the private sector, bilateral aid agencies, multilateral and regional finance institutions, the Clinton Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UN Foundation and others:
- Enhancing vector control by distributing and promoting the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual sprays (IRS);
- Facilitating the bulk purchasing of malaria medicines and commodities such as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). This new cooperative will build on lessons learned from LLIN procurement, in partnership with UNICEF in 2010;
- Promoting efforts to ban the production, importation, and use of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies and promoting legislative and regulatory interventions against these monotherapies in partnership with WHO and RBM;
- Eliminating taxes and tariffs on malaria medicines and commodities in partnership with the Malaria Taxes and Tariffs Project (M-TAP);
- Avoiding stock outs, scaling up treatment and diagnosis and strengthening Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and private sector partners:
- Supporting the local manufacturing of malaria drugs and commodities in Africa; and
- Offering technical support to countries in partnership with other technical partners.
“All ALMA countries, by joining the alliance, have demonstrated their commitment against malaria, and many have made important progress. The four recipients of the 2011 ALMA Award for Excellence have led the way with decisive actions to accelerate the saving of lives, and I commend their response,” said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria. “Africa has never led a more unequivocal initiative against malaria, with the Secretary-General’s deadline of ending malaria deaths by 2015 just five years away. Now is the time to overcome any barriers toward making that goal a reality.”
Of the 45 malaria-endemic countries in Africa, 62 % have removed tariffs on anti-malarial medicines, 42% have removed tariffs on LLINs, and 31 countries have taken measures to curtail the use of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies.
Since ALMA was established in September 2009, it has expanded rapidly and is currently comprised of 35 heads of state and government. These members are committed to ending deaths from malaria by 2015 in accordance with the United Nations Secretary-General’s target by ensuring universal access to malaria control interventions.
ALMA facilitates the sharing of effective malaria control practices, and it ensures that malaria remains high on the global policy agenda. ALMA members understand that malaria affects approximately 180 million Africans, killing around 700,000 every year, and it costs Africa’s economies at least US$ 12 billion annually.
Nevertheless, the increased commitment of African leaders is delivering results. In the last three years, approximately 300 million Long Lasting Insecticidal Mosquito Nets (LLINS) have been delivered across malaria-endemic Africa affording protection to over 80 percent of the population at risk of the disease. By 2009, eleven African countries had successfully cut their malaria burden in half. With many more countries expected to cut their malaria burden in half, we are on track to end malaria deaths. Our mission belongs to the world!
For more information please visit www.alma2015.org