Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 04, 2018 News
…as World Malaria Day 2018 nears
A clarion call has been made on a global scale for collective efforts to be made to undermine the decades long scourge of malaria.
In the forefront of this appeal is the RBM Partnership, which is the global platform for coordinated action against malaria. The movement is one that mobilizes for action and resources and forges consensus among partners. The partnership comprises more than 500 partners, including malaria-endemic countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, non-governmental and community-based organizations, foundations and research and academic institutions.
According to RBM, its strength lies in its ability to form effective partnerships, both globally and nationally, allowing for partners to work together to scale up malaria control efforts at country level, coordinating their activities to avoid duplicated and fragmentation, and to ensure optimal use of resources.
RBM has been intensifying its efforts globally, and has even reached out to Guyana, as World Malaria Day [April 25] draws near to solicit support to help roll-back the impact of the disease.
Malaria, which is typically transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito, is a life-threatening disease. Infected mosquitoes carry the plasmodium parasite and, when this mosquito bites, the parasite is released into the bloodstream.
“With [less than] one month to go until World Malaria Day…the RBM Partnership to End Malaria is calling on political and business leaders, scientists and citizens worldwide to declare they are ready to beat malaria – one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases, that puts half the world at risk and costs a child’s life every two minutes,” said RBM in a statement disseminated globally.
It was pointed out that a move in this direction is especially needed, since after a decade of progress, malaria cases have increased for the first time, and funding for malaria treatments and prevention has plateaued.
“April will be a momentous month in the global fight against malaria. We must ensure a renewed attention and commitment to ending malaria for good – from the highest political level down to local communities where the everyday fight against the disease is being fought,” said Dr. Kesete Admasu, Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
The month is already set to be pivotal for the global malaria community, with the Malaria Summit held alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London on April 18 and the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria [MIM] conference taking place in Dakar, Senegal from April 15 -20, 2018.
The Malaria Summit and supporting public facing campaign ‘ Malaria Must Die, So Millions Can Live’, is designed to shine a spotlight on the critical and pressing decision Commonwealth leaders face urging them to continue their work towards beating the disease with renewed financial and political commitments or risk putting our hard-fought progress in jeopardy.
The high-level event takes place the day before the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, bringing together business leaders, philanthropists, scientists, Heads of States and civil society to announce new commitments to beating malaria. The commitments will be paired with a call to action to Commonwealth leaders, who represent citizens making up six out of 10 malaria cases globally, to commit to accelerating progress against malaria.
The MIM conference, taking place simultaneously, will showcase the latest scientific breakthroughs coming out of the heavily burdened continent, giving scientists and researchers an opportunity to collaborate and share ideas as well as their latest research findings.
Other national and local events worldwide are planned in the lead-up to and on World Malaria Day 2018 to raise awareness, celebrate progress and commit to new actions.
“This World Malaria Day, we are coming together as a global community to renew political commitment, step up funding, speed up scientific innovations, and spur citizens and communities action around the world… The malaria fight is at a crossroads. If we don’t seize the moment now, our hard-won gains against the disease will be lost. We’re ready to beat malaria – are you?” asked Dr. Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho, RBM Partnership Board Chair.
This year marks the 10th World Malaria Day, an internationally recognised day to examine the global efforts to prevent, control and end malaria.
The call to bolster the malaria fight comes at a time when the local Ministry of Public Health is poised for support. Currently in its initial phase is an initiative that will see the Ministry, through its Vector Control Services Unit, working to help bring to fruition the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programmes [CCP] Breakthrough ACTION programme.
The Johns Hopkins’ CCP was founded over 30 years ago as a part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Health, Behaviour and Society, and is located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
According to information published at https://ccp.jhu.edu/projects/breakthrough-action/ on November 27, 2017, CCP was the recipient of a five-year award with a US$300 million [equivalent to G$60 billion] ceiling from the United States Agency for International Development [USAID] to lead its social behaviour programmes around the world.
In essence, it was pointed out that Breakthrough ACTION uses state-of-the-art, evidence-based tools to encourage people in developing countries to adopt healthy behaviours, from using modern contraceptive methods to sleeping under bed nets to being tested for HIV.
Based on reports from CCP, “this work not only harnesses the power of communication – from mass media campaigns to TV and radio dramas to simple posters in a health clinic – to inspire long-lasting change but also takes advantage of other behavioural science approaches such as behavioural economics, market insights and human centred design to improve programmes.
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
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