PHA-Exchange> the Roll Back Malaria Partnership

[Claudio]

WHAT A PARADOX...
Claudio

From: Judy Ladinsky <jlladins at wisc.edu>

> ^            ^* Roll Back Malaria Press Release*
>
>             *PARTNERSHIP GAINS GROUND IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA*
>
>             *Geneva / Lusaka / Brussels / Washington DC,* *21 April
>             2005*  A single word has become the touchstone for hopes
>             that a successful battle can be waged against malaria in
>             Africa:/ partnership/. At a time when funding to fight
>             malaria is still sorely lacking, a kaleidoscope of
>             organizations, governments, businesses and celebrities in
>             Africa, Europe, North America and Asia, united under the
>             banner of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, have made
>             unprecedented gains over the past year. On Monday 25
>             April, partners around the world will celebrate these
>             successes as they commemorate Africa Malaria Day 2005.
>             Under the theme Unite Against Malaria, celebrations will
>             focus on the importance of partnership at the national,
>             regional and global levels for fighting malaria. Working
>             with partners has allowed Zambia to make great strides in
>             the fight against malaria, which include exceeding our
>             2005 target for providing malaria prevention for children
>             under five,said Zambian Health Minister Dr Brian Chituwo,
>             whose country will be hosting this years main regional
>             Africa Malaria Day event.  Zambia is not alone; many
>             countries have had similar successes enabled by the
>             commitment and coordination of partners:
>                 + Throughout Africaand the worldtens of millions of
>                   people will benefit from greater availability of
>                   these medicines thanks to public-private
>                   collaboration by partners in Europe, China and the
>                   United States to ramp up production by the end of
>                   this year.
" *Malaria in Africa* Malaria
>             kills nearly a million African children under five each
>             year, more than any other single infection.  Every day 3
>             000 children die from this disease; those who survive may
>             suffer from brain damage or paralysis. Pregnant women and
>             their unborn children are also especially vulnerable to
>             malaria, which is a major cause of low birth weight,
>             anaemia and infant death. Malaria can be prevented through
>             personal protection against mosquito bites and treated
>             effectively with medication. Malaria costs African
>             countries US$ 12 billion every year in lost GDP. The cost
>             of effective malaria control in Africa would be just US$ 2
>             billion per year. *The Roll Back Malaria Partnership* To
>             provide a coordinated international approach to fighting
>             malaria, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) was
>             launched in 1998 by the World Health Organization, the
>             United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations
>             Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank. The
>             Partnership now brings together governments of countries
>             affected by malaria, their bilateral and multilateral
>             development partners, the private sector, non-governmental
>             and community-based organizations, foundations, and
>             research and academic institutions around the common goal
>             of halving the global burden of malaria by 2010.
smithp at who.int                  ptitol at who.int
>