Making progress on malaria

Yesterday I attended the launch of Roll Back Malaria’s Report on a Decade of Partnership and Results, alongside our client Sumitomo Chemical (maker of the life-saving Olyset net). Held at The Commonwealth Club, the event was attended by representatives from the WHO, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Glaxo Smith Kline, DIFD and the Ugandan High Commission. There was a very clear message coming out from the speakers: “We have made great progress in reducing the numbers of deaths from malaria, but the hard work must continue if this achievement is to be long-standing”.

There are some pretty eye-watering statistics in the report: in the last decade between 280-290 million mosquito nets have been distributed in Africa to 80% of the population at risk in malaria-endemic areas; 75 million people have benefitted from indoor residual spraying; and that 1.1 million lives, mostly children, have been saved. Dr. Rob Newman from the WHO said that more lives will be saved over the forthcoming years as all the interventions start to kick-in and accelerate in impact but that our goal had to be achieving near-zero deaths from malaria, that “we need to make sure that the resources and political commitment continue in order to make it happen”.

This view was echoed by Stephen O’Brien, MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, who is looking to the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance to sustain the political will in those countries affected by malaria. He highlighted that the “job is not yet done” and that we need to do more of what we know works, but be flexible enough to seek out new tools and build a complementary armoury to combat malaria. As a politician he also highlighted the need for transparency in policies and the importance of designing effective delivery programmes. DIFD has committed £500 million each year until 2014 in order to reach the MDGs. He sees malaria as a global public health issue that deserves a continued and sustained effort to stop it bouncing back.

Glaxo Smith Kline’s representative Jon Pender reminded the audience that we should learn from the past and look to polio where we are close to the end, but need to be watchful to ensure it does not revive as a global disease. He believes partnership is the key ingredient in the success of the malaria campaign to date, where private / public and government campaigns have combined to achieve the progress of the past decade. And that whilst the work on a malaria vaccine is vital, the other interventions such as long-lasting insecticide nets and indoor spraying are all important tools, some of which are more appropriate according to the context.

Lastly His Excellency Ambassador Isaax Sebulime Biruma from Uganda emphasised the point that the world needs to see malaria as a global problem, reminding us that even the UK has suffered from the disease in the past. He focused on the need for there to be a paradigm shift so that the world did not just see malaria as a business but as a public health tragedy, requiring constant research, investment and evolving solutions.

Flagship Consulting has supported this event through a media outreach programme in partnership with UK NGOs such as Malaria No More UK, PATH and the Malaria Consortium.