Washington DC — Africans are dying from another killer disease that rivals the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS; and Americans can play a major role in helping to prevent it, says the White House.
"I think our citizens will be amazed to hear that last year, about a million Africans died of malaria," President George W. Bush told a White House Summit on Malaria Thursday.
"The vast majority were children under five—their lives ended by nothing more than a mosquito bite. In some countries, more people die of malaria than HIV/AIDS—and last week, a new study showed that people who contract malaria become more likely to spread HIV."
Both President Bush and his wife, Laura, hosted an all-day meeting at the National Geographic Society, which brought together representatives of African governments, U.S. officials, international business organizations and NGOs. The idea of public-private partnerships drives the effort.
Wednesday, the World Bank announced that it will provide US$230m to help African countries fight the disease. US$180m will go to Nigeria in interest-free credit. The disease is that nation's leading cause of illness and death according to its Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo.
Speaking to allAfrica.com during the White House summit, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer explained that in June 2005 a US$1.2 billion program called the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) was launched in three "target" African nations—Tanzania, Uganda, and Angola.
Since then, anti-malaria aid has reached 6 million people in those countries. It's been almost surprisingly effective, says Frazer citing one example. The relatively simple act of distributing insect-treated bed nets on the island of Pemba just off the coast of Tanzania has resulted in an 87 percent drop in the number of cases of malaria from January to September 2006.
"We have learned some lessons," says Frazer.
In essence, those lessons boil down to: a little can go a long and effective way. "Just a contribution of $10 can save a life. It will buy one bed net for a family and cover the cost of educating that family about using it to protect themselves [from malaria carrying mosquitoes]," she noted.
Announced at Thursday's summit was a new "Malaria Communities Program." This $30 million initiative aims to build independent, sustainable malaria-control projects in Africa by providing grants to African NGOs and religious groups to support their malaria-control work. These initiatives will protect children and families and will help citizens take charge of their own health.
Already some NGOs on and off the African continent have grouped together under the banner of "Malaria No More" in support of the PMI and were highlighted at the White House summit. In a statement, the group says, "Malaria No More is mobilizing corporations and foundations; churches, synagogues and mosques; non-governmental and non-profit organizations; schools and teams; and communities and individuals, especially young people."
Education forms an important part of the effort, explained Carol J. Thompson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, also speaking to allAfrica.com. "One of the biggest needs is getting out information," she said, explaining that one part of the information need is "trying to let people in the United States and around the world know that malaria is preventable and treatable," while the other part is teaching protection and prevention in malaria-affected areas.
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Plans to create "Volunteers for Prosperity" were also announced at the summit. According to Frazer, the Red Cross plans to begin taking volunteers from around the world to Africa.
Under this program—part of the PMI—skilled professionals willing to volunteer to help combat malaria in Africa will be eligible for grants.
"We're trying to build a global citizens network—to teach and mobilize," said Thompson.
Following the success with its initial target nations, four more countries were added—Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal. And at Thursday's summit, the addition of eight more countries was announced—Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali and Zambia.
