African Leader’s Malaria Alliance
On the 11th of November in Geneva, country leaders, public health experts, scientists and researchers joined Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to mark 20 years of innovation in malaria medicines and look ahead to the next generation of interventions for what remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Leaders of malaria-endemic countries across Africa and the Asia-Pacific pledged to accelerate malaria elimination through domestic funding and by creating an enabling policy environment for the introduction of new tools to boost innovation and access to medicines. His Majesty King Mswati III, chair of the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (ALMA) commented: “African leaders are racing to meet the target we set for malaria elimination by 2030. Increasing domestic resources for malaria so that we can scale-up and sustain universal coverage ad ensure medicines can be accessed by those who need them most is our top priority. We also commit to continue to address drug and insecticide resistance through investment in constant innovation and ensuring new solutions are made available. We commend all partners who have joined us on this critical journey, including MMV who is using data to identify gaps in innovation and developing new tools that will ensure we win this fight. I hope to be celebrating our countries eliminating malaria in the coming years. We will achieve a malaria-free Africa!”.
Asia Pacific Leader’s Malaria Alliance
APLMA attended Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) alongside African Leader’s Malaria Alliance. Dr Benjamin Rolfe, CEO, Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance adds: “In Asia-Pacific, we are making great strides against malaria – China has achieved nearly 3 years with zero indigenous malaria cases, Malaysia has reported no indigenous human malaria cases in 2018, and India reported a 24% fall in malaria cases between 2016 and 2017. Yet multi-drug resistance in the Mekong region due to Plasmodium falciparum, a deadly parasite found across the continent, is posing a threat to global health security. Now, it is more important than ever to ensure that citizens have access to innovative, effective medicines and scale-up efforts to defeat malaria. As we celebrate the progress made by MMV over the past 20 years, we reaffirm our commitment to increasing access to treatments for the disease and tackling resistance through the development of transformative medicines for malaria.”
At the beginning of November, leaders from 18 countries in East-Asia pledged their commitment to defeat malaria at the East Asia Summit in Thailand. In the Chairman’s statement, heads of government of all ASEAN nations, plus 8 more including India and China, reiterated their commitment to “the goal of a malaria-free Asia Pacific by 2030 and acknowledged ongoing efforts in the implementation of the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Elimination Roadmap.”
A November 2019 workshop in Hanoi convened by the Vector Control Platform in Asia Pacific (VCAP), co-led by Unitaid and APLMA, brought together representatives from Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Environment from 9 countries in Asia Pacific as well as regional and global health partners –including the World Health Organization (WHO), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC). The workshop was designed to build cross-ministerial and regulatory system support to introduce innovative vector control (VC) products needed to eliminate malaria by 2030. Country-specific presentations by Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia provided an overview of the regulation processes for vector control products in their respective countries. They highlighted the diverse range of regulatory practices in the region for vector control products and described challenges and opportunities for efficient regulation. Country discussions also stressed on the benefits of cross-Ministry collaboration to identify opportunities to accelerate introduction of new vector control products needed to eliminate malaria by 2030 in Asia Pacific. There were also discussions on mechanisms to streamline regulatory processes in countries, such as waiving the need for in-country product testing if already evaluated in a similar country context or though WHO-PQ: fast-tracking regulatory processes for high priority vector control products; and a harmonized regional regulatory process. As part of the workshop, IVCC also launched the publication of three new landscape studies for vector control products in Asia Pacific.
The President’s Malaria Initiative
The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) welcomes the publication of the report from the Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication, which concludes that malaria can and should be eradicated by the year 2050. Dr. Staley said: “This report will be incredibly valuable for the global malaria community, and I’m honored to have played a part in it. Not only will it help guide our collective efforts to create a world free of malaria, it will bring renewed purpose, urgency, and dedication to the task.”
The Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB, and Malaria
At the Board’s 42nd meeting in mid-November, one month after a successful Sixth Replenishment that secured pledges of over US$14 billion for 2020-2022, Board members expressed appreciation for the collective efforts that led to such a strong mobilization of resources, calling it a compelling affirmation of commitment toward achieving greater social justice all over the world. The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria approved funding decisions for ambitious investments over the next three-year period to significantly increase impact against HIV, TB and malaria and to build resilient and sustainable systems for health.
Additionally, several Board members also welcomed plans announced by the Global Fund’s Executive Director to establish a Youth Council to facilitate greater engagement of young people in finding solutions, since people under 25 are disproportionately vulnerable.