As interest and support for malaria has increased globally, partners to the RBM are advocating for additional resources to malaria control at the global, regional and national level. Advocacy has become a key driver in the RBM Partnership, coordinated through the Malaria Advocacy Working Group (MAWG) which was established by the RBM Board in November 2006.

The MAWG provides strategic advice to the Partnership Secretariat and the RBM Board on effective advocacy approaches. Its primary effort is targeted at increasing global resources for scaling-up malaria prevention, treatment, and operational research, including in endemic countries. Global commitments to malaria are presently pledged at approximately USD 1.5bn annually.

As part of ongoing efforts to position malaria as a global health priority and to strengthen the RBM Partnership, the MAWG organizes high-impact activities around major events, such as the G-8 summit, the Global Fund on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and World Malaria Day on 25 April each year. Targeting top decision makers at such events is a proven means to increase awareness about existing solutions to effective malaria control.

As of 2008, the MAWG is engaged in rallying political commitment from new donor countries and in achieving an increase of annual commitments to USD 3bn by 2010 for global malaria control initiatives.

MAWG is composed of a diverse group of partners with skills and capacity to facilitate effective advocacy messages delivered at opportune moments. The working group ensures "joined-up" advocacy efforts and dissemination of accurate information on global resource allocations in order to support the malaria community in its battle and enable greater accountability by both donors and implementers.

MAWG Task teams

Task team Current 1.5bn

Objective	To ensure that current investments are delivered and impact is communicated back to audiences.
Members	African Medical and Research Foundation	Enid Wamani	Uganda
	CORE Group	Alison Hill	USA
	Development Finance International	Jessica Rockwood	USA
	Fighting Malaria	Richard Tren	South Africa
	Global Health Advocates	Louis Da Gama	UK
	Global Health Council	Nicole Bates	USA
	Johns Hopkins University	Bonnie Gillespie	USA
	Johns Hopkins University	Matthew C. Lynch	USA
	KeNAAM	Peter McOdida	Kenya
	PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative	Sally Ethelston	USA
	Vestergaard Frandsen	Peter Cleary	USA
	WHO - PAHO	Rainier Escalada	Multilateral
Sub-team AU	Coalition Against Malaria	Wilfred Mbacham	Cameroon
	Development Finance International	Jessica Rockwood	USA
	Global Health Advocates	Louis Da Gama	UK
	Global Health Council	Nicole Bates	USA
	Johns Hopkins University	Matthew C. Lynch	USA
	Red Cross / EU Alliance against Malaria	Marcus Lens Van Rijn	EU

Task team Future 1.5bn+

Objective	To motivate existing stakeholders to increase investments and new ones to invest in malaria activities.
Members	Global Health Advocates	Louis Da Gama	UK
	Global Health Council	Nicole Bates	USA
	Johns Hopkins University	Bonnie Gillespie	USA
	KeNAAM	Peter McOdida	Kenya
	PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative	Sally Ethelston	USA
	Sumitomo Chemical	Lisa Goldman	Japan
	UN Foundation	Kevin Starace	USA
	World Bank - Booster Program for Malaria	Jumana Qamruddin	Multilateral

Task team Policy

Objective	To advocate for policies that maximize malaria policy effectiveness.
Members	Development Finance International	Jessica Rockwood	USA
	Fighting Malaria	Richard Tren	South Africa
	Global Health Council	Nicole Bates	USA
	Johns Hopkins University	Matthew C. Lynch	USA
Sub-team complex emergencies	Global Health Advocates	Louis Da Gama	UK
	Johns Hopkins University	Bonnie Gillespie	USA
	UN Foundation	Kevin Starace	USA
Sub-team linkages	Global Health Advocates	Louis Da Gama	UK
	Global Health Council	Nicole Bates	USA
	KeNAAM	Peter McOdida	Kenya
	Red Cross / EU Alliance against Malaria	Marcus Lens Van Rijn	EU
	Vestergaard Frandsen	Peter Cleary	USA
	VOICES Ghana	Fiagbey Emmanuel	Ghana

Task team R&D

Objective	To integrate R&D priorities into the mainstream malaria advocacy platform.
Members	Coalition Against Malaria	Wilfred Mbacham	Cameroon
	CORE Group	Alison Hill	USA
	PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative	Sally Ethelston	USA
	Red Cross / EU Alliance against Malaria	Aude Galli	EU
	WHO Tropical Diseases - TDR	Jamie Guth	Multilateral

Documents

Meetings

DATE	MEETING OUTPUTS
MAWG Planning and Executive Committee Meeting 17.01.2008, London	Minutes [PDF 86K] Meeting notes (Draft) [PDF 72K] Annotated Agenda [PDF 1.3M] RBM Harmonized workplan (summary) [PDF 2.7M]
First MAWG Meeting 10-11.01.2007	Minutes of the meeting [PDF 68K] Presentations of the meeting [MS PPT 280K] RBM Partnership MAWG Advocacy Partner Profile [MS Word 38K]
Global Advocacy Task Force 23-24.01.2006 Geneva	In November 2006, the RBM Partnership Board endorsed the Global Advocacy Framework developed by the RBM Advocacy Task Force. The Board also approved the formation of the Malaria Advocacy Working Group (MAWG) which replaces the Global Advocacy Task Force (GATF). RBM Global Advocacy Task Force Meeting Archived materials Presentations to download: Malaria Advocacy Activities 2006 Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFHTM) Global Health Council (GHC) Kenya NGO Alliance Against Malaria (KeNAAM) MACEPA Malaria Foundation International (MFI) Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)

Other material

• Open Letter from the Malaria Advocacy Group to the new Executive Director, The Global Fund, 8 February 2007
• Malaria and the Global Fund - What's needed now !
• Advocacy for Malaria Prevention in the 21st Century
  The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2007
  By Nicole Bates and James Herrington