MALARIA ON THE RISE, CHILDREN MOST VULNERABLE

World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, and UNDP, call for much more action in the fight against Malaria

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, April 18, 2001--Malaria, one of the world's most important public health concerns, is on the rise again, causing over a million deaths a year, including an estimated 700,000 children. According to the WHO, in absolute numbers, malaria kills 3,000 children under 5 years old, every day a death toll comparable to that of AIDS. Effective malaria control programs have led to dramatic declines in death in some countries, but obstacles remain in many of the world's poorest countries.

Mobilizing action to implement effective nation-wide programs is the focus of attention of the Fourth Global Partnership Meeting to Roll Back Malaria, hosted by the World Bank in Washington D.C. from April 18th-19th 2001. The meeting brings together health and finance officials from twenty-one malaria-affected countries, representatives of NGOs, industry, the private sector, foundations, research institutions, donors and UN agencies to agree on methods to strengthen their capacity to expand malaria programs beyond the public and health sectors.

"Roll Back Malaria movement has clearly made extraordinary progress in many countries across the world, enabling hundreds of thousands of people living in poor communities to better access prevention and treatment services." according to Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization. "But there remains much to be done. I hope that international and national agencies, encouraged by the progress, will commit additional resources so that actions to Roll Back Malaria can be scaled up and millions more can benefit."

The rising numbers of people affected by Malaria overwhelms national health services, sustains poverty and weakens societies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where ninety percent of the cases occur. The cost of prevention and treatment consumes scarce household resources and the disease continues to have a negative impact on the health of children.

"Malaria is much more than a health issue. In many countries, it is now endangering development, targeting the poor and especially children who have little or no defense." according to James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group. "We need to give them those defenses. We have seen in Asia, Latin America and some African countries, that malaria can be controlled with the right tools and resources. We need to work aggressively with local NGOs and with the private sector to fight malaria at the local level, and work with governments to scale up local programs into national strategies."

The meetings provide a platform for countries to share experiences on expanding country level partnerships to achieve effective nation-wide programs to reach the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) goals of halving the burden of malaria by 2010. It will also examine the role of the Government and potential contributions of the private sector and NGOs to form better partnerships that will extend malaria programs beyond the public health sector. In addition participants will discuss the challenges they face in mobilizing, and effectively employing external resources, and the opportunities provided through national Poverty Reduction Strategies and the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative to scale-up successful malaria programs.

The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative was launched jointly by the World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, and UNDP in November, 1998 in New York. It responds to the concerns of Heads of State in more than 30 malaria-affected countries and to the particular problems faced by their poor communities.

RBM is headed by David Alnwick who was recently appointed as Project Manager in January, 2001. Dr. Alnwick was Chief of the Health Section in the Program Division of UNICEF's New York Headquarters for the last three years. RBM is not a financing mechanism, but aims to support countries through global partnerships to ensure that they have effective access to the information, technology and financial resources required to reduce the burden of malaria.

Country Examples

Azerbaijan: Public-private- partnership

An alarming upsurge in malaria cases in Azerbaijan during the mid-90s is being reversed through the efforts of a public-private partnership brokered in 1998 by the Roll Back Malaria global partnership.

During its first year of operation the malaria program, funded by a private sector multinational company and supported by international and other UN agencies, helped reduce malaria cases by over 50 percent.

Ethiopia: Community Participation

In the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where less than half the population live within easy reach of a health center, more than half a million people are treated for malaria every year by a network of more than 700 volunteer health workers.

Mothers are also recruited to teach other mothers how to diagnose and treat malaria in the home. This has led to a 40% reduction in overall death rates among children less than five. Death rates of children from other villages outside this scheme, continue to be high.

Cambodia: National Commitment

Over half a million Cambodians live in hilly areas or work in forests where malaria is rife. The prevalence of malaria is more than 50 percent of malaria prevalence are found in children living in hill villages.

The National malaria program brought together several partners including the International Federation of the Red Cross, the European Commission, WHO and others, to fight outbreaks in the rural areas of the country. Cambodia's commitment to malaria control has significantly reduced the number of cases per year.

For more information on the Roll Back Malaria movement please visit the website:
www.rbm.who.int
For more information on the World Bank please visit:
www.worldbank.org
For more information on World Health Organization please visit:
www.WHO.int
For more information on UNICEF please visit:
www.UNICEF.org
For more information on UNDP please visit
www.UNDP.org

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