WHO/DG/SP

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland:
Director-General: World Health Organization
Africa Malaria Day: Press Conference: Abuja 25 April 2001

 

Good afternoon,

Today is the first Africa Malaria Day in history. It is a day to celebrate progress made, but above all to take stock of the situation and map out clear objectives for the future.

One year ago, right here in Abuja, Heads of African States and other senior government representatives launched a major campaign against malaria. It was the first time that so many leaders actually met to discuss just one illness.

This is because malaria remains a serious problem. It bites into the development of Africa's people, and their nations. It causes millions of people to lose earnings, opportunities to learn, and chances to achieve their full potential. It kills at least one million people a year and is a major barrier to development in Africa.

Malaria interacts with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, particularly in pregnancy. We need common, multi-sectoral strategies to tackle malaria, HIV, TB and other related illness. These depend on functioning health systems, which are made available to all who need them through community as well as public sector, voluntary, academic and private sector institutions.

All those Heads of State and their representatives one year ago agreed on a plan of action to Roll Back Malaria. The plan contained 4 main points :

I am pleased to note that since the Abuja Summit, 21 countries have developed plans for multi-sectoral action to Roll Back Malaria based on these strategic elements. Out of those four, Roll Back Malaria placed particular emphasis on preventing malaria, and concentrated on encouraging the widespread use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

These nets, when properly used, really do make a difference. A recent report from Tanzania shows that the introduction of insecticide-treated bed-nets in a community of 480.000 people reduced mortality by 25% in children under five.

Last week in Washington, where Roll Back Malaria held its annual global meeting, the partners agreed that pregnant women and their babies, the most vulnerable groups, should have access to mosquito nets in the next year at a highly subsidised price.

One of the commitments made by governments in Abuja last year was to reduce taxes and tariffs on nets and insecticides to make them more affordable. We have a report here, produced for us by Boston University, which reviews the situation of taxes and tariffs in malaria-affected countries.

5 countries, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia have taken bold action and changed their policies to lower the price of treated nets. Tanzania has been a pioneer, as it abolished taxes and tariffs as early as 1994.

There is also welcomed evidence of increased donor support for malaria control, higher government spending, and more commercial investment in malaria control technologies.

The World Health Organisation has been involved in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the prices of drugs in developing countries and make those medicines more readily available.

With other Roll Back Malaria partners, we are also addressing the threat of growing resistance to anti-malarial drugs by developing policies on combination treatment and assisting national malaria control programmes in changing their treatment guidelines.

Public-private partnerships are vital to this effort. Roll Back Malaria is currently working with the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to provide people in malaria endemic countries with the anti-malarial combination drug Co-artem at affordable prices. Work with companies has raised the possibility of much reduced prices - in Africa - for artesunate-based combination therapy that can tackle chloroquine-resistant malaria..

As we look ahead to the next year in this decade to Roll Back Malaria, I anticipate a scaling up of efforts throughout the continent of Africa. I know that many countries are working on lowering the price of insecticide treated nets. We must make sure that all families can access them, and that all children and pregnant women use them. I know that many countries are trying to ensure that the right treatment is readily available to people - including those who are poor and who live in rural areas. Health systems need to be tuned up to meet the needs of populations affected by all infectious diseases. I also urge the business community to keep up the momentum and join as forcefully as possible in the fight against malaria and other deadly diseases that are killing Africans in their young and most productive years.

Thank you.