Continued Commitment to Malaria Eradication in the Era of Covid-19: Voices in 2020 and 2021
The World Health Organization
“We must never accept the status quo…together, we will overcome this pandemic. Together, we will realize our vision of a malaria-free world.”
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General at the WHO/RBM webinar in early September 2020
“We need to rethink malaria. And the rethinking of malaria as Dr. Tedros said earlier today – status quo is not an option. We need to take the opportunity of the disruption caused by Covid-19, building on the fact we were stalling before Covid, with the lessons learned these last 6 to 8 months where the malaria community has shown the muscle, which we should all be proud of, we need to rethink how we’re going to do this over the next 10 years, how we’ll meet global technical strategies and SDGs. We need to rethink; all of us need to take this to heart. Everybody needs to be part of the discussion and on board.”
- Dr. Pedro Alonso, Director of the Global Malaria Programme at the WHO/RBM webinar in early September 2020
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
“The other challenge is to maintain the sense of ambition of what we should be achieving in the fight against malaria. I don’t think we should be purely defensive; we should also be saying this is a catalyst to really step up the fight against malaria…I want to make sure we keep that sense of ambition…we need to keep that sense that it’s not enough to stop going backwards, we want to really go forward over the next few years and drive progress and really get rid of this disease…We should be challenging ourselves within the malaria world to have that similar sense of innovation, more resource mobilization, more collaboration, and more ambition in what we’re doing.”
- Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund at the WHO/RBM webinar in early September 2020
Roll Back Malaria Partnership
“Now is not the moment to lower the level of our ambition on the achievement of global malaria targets. However, any strategy is only as good as its funding level allows. We must double down on advocacy and resource mobilization efforts for malaria elimination, which will bring outsized returns on investment.”
- Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo, RBM CEO at the WHO Global Technical Strategy update webinar in January 2021
“With ongoing commitment, optimized use of current resources and new investments, we can deliver on the promise of a malaria-free world.”
- Professor Maha Taysir Barakat, RBM Board Chair at the the WHO Global Technical Strategy update webinar in January 2021
President’s Malaria Initiative
“I believe we can eradicate malaria within our lifetime.”
- Dr. Ken Staley, former President’s Malaria Initiative US Global Malaria Coordinator during the September 30th, 2020 Malaria Partners International webinar (formerly Rotarian Malaria Partners)
Commitment to Malaria Eradication: Voices in 2019
The World Health Organization
“WHO is committed to leading the global effort to make malaria history. But it’s not a job for WHO alone. Today, I am issuing a challenge to the global health community. The goal of eradicating malaria is supremely ambitious, but true progress only happens when we set goals that we think are out of reach. Together, we must rise to the challenge of stimulating new R&D. We must rise to the challenge of mobilizing resources. We must rise to the challenge of achieving universal health coverage. If we do, we can deliver the world we all dream of – a world free of malaria.”
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization at the World Health Organization’s Forum on Rising to the Challenge of Malaria Eradication on September 9, 2019
Ministry of Health of Uganda
“It feels bad to be grouped among the worst. But it feels worse when you know that there are more people in your country dying from malaria and there is very dim light at the end of the tunnel unless something fundamental is done…Should we set a date? Yes. We need to set a date. If we don’t set a date, we shall continue talking as we have been doing for many [decades]. Does setting a date help? Yes. [It] puts pressure. But more specifically, it helps countries like mine to [globalize] our plans for elimination around the date and become more accountable both in terms of our actions and in terms of the finances. [It] makes people more focused.”
- Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Minister of Health, Uganda at the World Health Organization’s Forum on Rising to the Challenge of Malaria Eradication on September 9, 2019
African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA)
“Malaria eradication is possible within a generation, but it is essential that we accelerate progress.”
- His Majesty and Ingwenyama King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) in “An Africa free of Malaria,” an editorial comment (September 8, 2019) on the report of The Lancet Commission on malaria eradication
Sri Lanka
“The tools we have are not perfect, but they are effective. If Sri Lanka can achieve elimination, we know that many others can as well.”
- Dr. Kamini Mendis, Independent Consultant in Malaria and Tropical Medicine, Sri Lanka in “May you live in interesting times: a malariologist reflects on elimination success,” an interview (November 3, 2017) published by the World Health Organization on its website