Against the backdrop of the 2024 Africa Malaria Progress Report, which reveals stagnating progress and mounting threats to malaria elimination, African leaders at the African Union Summit have committed to mobilizing domestic resources and scaling up innovative financing.
The leaders urged global partners to replenish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, emphasizing the need for swift, unified action to combat the disease. This commitment comes amid growing concerns that Africa’s goal of eliminating malaria by 2030 is in jeopardy due to factors such as insufficient funding, rapid population growth, climate change, insecticide and drug resistance, and humanitarian crises.
As President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau concluded his tenure as Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), he handed over leadership to President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko of Botswana.
In his inaugural speech, President Boko called for urgent domestic resource mobilization, urging governments to tap into emergency funds, increase health budgets, and expand innovative financing mechanisms like End Malaria Councils and the Green Climate Fund.
“Africa must urgently rise to the challenge by mobilizing domestic resources and scaling up innovative financing,”President Boko said.
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf highlighted the success of End Malaria Councils, which have collectively raised over $125 million, supporting community health workers who are pivotal in tackling malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.
Global Fund Replenishment Vital to Malaria Fight
With 62% of international malaria funding coming from the Global Fund, leaders stressed that a successful replenishment is crucial to reversing stalled progress.
“Malaria is at the center of global health, strengthening health systems and pandemic preparedness. Securing sufficient resources through the Global Fund is essential,” said Ambassador Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health at the African Union Commission.
The report called for urgent deployment of next-generation tools such as dual insecticide-treated nets, new malaria medicines, and vaccines, alongside local manufacturing of these products to boost economic and public health outcomes.
To highlight the human cost of malaria, leaders launched the ‘Change the Story’ campaign, featuring firsthand accounts of children affected by the disease.
“We need to listen to children’s voices today because the decisions our leaders make will determine their futures tomorrow. In Nigeria, where I was born, malaria stunts children’s education, steals their livelihoods, and sometimes takes their lives. Leaders must turn the page and start a new, more hopeful chapter to save lives,” said Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Zero Malaria Ambassador.
In a poignant campaign film, young Gloria from Mozambique recounted how malaria devastated her family after severe flooding destroyed their home and mosquito nets.
Amid growing concerns, Egypt’s certification as malaria-free by the WHO was a milestone moment. During the Summit, President Boko and WHO Africa Acting Regional Director Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu presented an award to Egypt’s Ambassador Ashraf Sweilam, recognizing this achievement as proof that malaria elimination is possible.
Despite setbacks, Africa has reduced malaria incidence by 38% and mortality by 60% since 2000, preventing 1.8 billion cases and saving 11.9 million lives. However, leaders stressed that without urgent action, progress could be undone.
“Now is the time for a big push. We must act decisively to accelerate Africa’s path to malaria elimination,” urged President Embaló.
