PHA-Exchange> "Drop the tax" Campaign (malaria)

[Aviva]

From:David Sanders <lmartin at uwc.ac.za>

 PRESS RELEASE
African leaders fail on promise to drop malaria tax

In spite of the "Abuja Declaration" two years ago,
26 African countries still tax the importation of mosquito nets

"Drop the Malaria Tax" campaign launched today at
www.MassiveEffort.org

Two years ago, African leaders pledged to drop import taxes on treated
mosquito nets in an attempt to reduce the continents' enormous malaria
epidemic.  On the second anniversary of their meeting, fewer than half have
kept that promise.

In a declaration made in Abuja, Nigeria on 25 April 2000, Africa's leaders
pledged to  reduce the cost of protecting mothers and their children from
mosquitoes.  Of the one million people who die from malaria in Africa each
year; the majority are children and pregnant women.

According to the Massive Effort, a global initiative that is mobilizing
society to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, 26 countries still have not
removed taxes and tariffs on treated mosquito nets.  Responding to this lack
of political commitment, the Massive Effort is waging a "Drop the Malaria
Tax" campaign.

"Africa's leaders must be held accountable to their promises," said Louis Da
Gama, Director of Malaria Foundation International and spokesperson for the
campaign.  "They have it in their power to drop these taxes and to do more
to
fight malaria in their countries."

Treated mosquito nets are considered one of the most effective methods for
reducing malaria transmission and preventing death.  Research in sub-Saharan
Africa, where most of the world's annual 300 million malaria cases occur,
shows that using treated mosquito nets can reduce malaria occurrence by at
least 20% among children.

Cost and availability are the major barriers to the use of treated mosquito
nets.  In the majority of African countries, import duties increase the
price
of treated mosquito nets by more than 30%, which can amount to a day's wages
in Africa.  Removing the taxes on these nets and the materials required to
produce them would reduce the price significantly and make them much more
affordable to poor households.

The Abuja Declaration to Roll Back Malaria in Africa, signed on 25 April
2000
by African leaders, states that:  "We, the Heads of State and Government of
African countries ...pledge to reduce or waive taxes and tariffs for
mosquito
nets and materials, insecticides, anti-malarial drugs and other recommended
goods and services that are needed for malaria control strategies. "

During the conference, Botswana's President, Festus Mogae, stated that, "For
too long the focus on malaria control has been almost exclusively on the
health implications of the diseases without addressing some of the
fundamental determinants of the  vulnerability of many communities to
malaria.  These include .... poor accessibility of health services to those
most in need."   Two years later, the Botswana government still charges
taxes
on treated mosquito nets.

Likewise, the promise of Togo's President Gnassingbe Eyadema two years ago
to
"mobilize all good will, all energy and initiatives" in order to vanquish
malaria has not brought an end to taxes on treated mosquito nets in his
country, even though malaria is the leading cause of sickness and
hospitalization in Togo.

The 26 countries that have failed to drop taxes on treated mosquito nets are
Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo,
Republic Democratique du Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South
Africa, Swaziland and Togo.

The 17 countries that have removed taxes and tariffs on treated mosquito
nets
are Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d`Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali,
 Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and
 Zimbabwe.

 According to a study conducted in cooperation with the London School of
 Tropical Medicine, sub-Saharan Africa's GDP could have been up to 32
percent
 greater now if malaria had been wiped out over the past decades.  This
would
 represent up to 100 billion dollars added to sub-Saharan Africa's current
GDP
 of 300 billion dollars. The extra amount is almost five times all
development
 aid provided to Africa last year.

 There are over 300 million cases of malaria worldwide each year, with
nearly
 1.1 million resulting in death. Over 90% of these cases and deaths occur in
 sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of those who die are children aged under
 five years. They die because they are unprotected from mosquito bites and
are
 not treated quickly enough with anti-malarial drugs to prevent the disease
 from killing them.  Currently, however, less than 5% of children at
greatest
 risk of the disease sleep safely under these nets.   The cost of a treated
 mosquito net averages US$ 4.00 per net.

 The "Drop the Malaria Tax" campaign is organized by the Massive Effort.
The
 Massive Effort is a global non-profit network that uses state-of-the art
 advocacy, communication and marketing strategies to mobilize society to
 reduce TB and malaria deaths in half, and HIV infections by 25%, by the
year
2010.


 The Wall Street Journal
25 April 2002

Import Tax on Malaria Nets In Africa Remains in Place

NEW YORK -- Two years after African leaders publicly
pledged to drop import taxes on treated mosquito nets used
to prevent malaria , fewer than half have kept that promise.

Treated mosquito nets can reduce malaria -- transmitted
through the bite of an infected mosquito -- by at least 50%
in children, according to a nonprofit organization called the
Massive Effort Campaign. The campaign, a global initiative
funded by the Swiss-based insurance firm Winterthur, a unit
of Credit Suisse Group, and other corporate concerns and
advocacy groups, is trying to pressure the 26 African countries
that haven't yet reduced or removed such taxes to do so
immediately. They say this is a critical step in combating the
epidemic that kills 1.1 million people a year, mostly children
under five years old in Africa.

Currently, tariffs can add more than 30% to the cost of a bed net
treated with insecticide, which, on average, costs about $6 or $7.
Despite the majority of African countries' having done nothing to
reduce the fees, 17 countries in Africa have either eliminated or
significantly reduced them.

Louis Da Gama, a spokesman for the campaign, says it is still
too soon to determine precisely how many fatal cases of malaria
have been prevented due to lower tariffs on bed nets and insecticide.
But, he said: "Clearly cost is a barrier for families who spend $6
on meals for an entire week."