Malaria is the single largest killer of children in Africa. More than one million people die each year, most of them children in Africa, despite the fact that proven, cost-effective prevention and treatment solutions exist. On June 30, 2005, President Bush announced the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a new commitment to spend an additional $1.2 billion between 2005 and 2010 and cut malaria related deaths by 50% in 15 focus countries in Africa.

The new initiative is partnering with national malaria control programs, international organizations and the private sector with a goal of providing prevention and treatment for 175 million of the most vulnerable people (children under the age of five, pregnant women and people living with HIV/AIDS) in its 15 focus nations by 2010. PMI is providing anti malarial drugs, insecticide-treated bed nets, treatment for pregnant women and indoor mosquito spraying. The first phase of the program was launched in early 2006 in Uganda, Angola and Tanzania and has thus far reached 6 million Africans with anti-malaria services.

In 2007, PMI plans to reach an additional 30 million Africans with medicines, sprays and bed nets by expanding into four new focus countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Senegal. In addition, at the recent White House Summit on Malaria, the Administration announced that eight additional African countries – Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali and Zambia – will be added in 2008.

 

U.S. Funding for Malaria
Funding for the President’s Malaria Initiative is additional to existing funding for malaria. In total, the U.S. directs money to the fight against malaria in three ways:

Recent Trends in U.S. Malaria Funding
In its first year, the Administration programmed $30 million to launch PMI efforts in Angola, Tanzania and Uganda. The Administration has requested an additional $130 million in FY2007; the request is expected to grow to an additional $300 million in FY2008 and FY2009 and an additional $500 million by FY2010.

To date, total U.S. funding for malaria has doubled between FY02 and FY06, from $112 million to $250 million. Bilateral funding for malaria has remained fairly flat over this time period, while contributions to the Global Fund have increased dramatically—U.S. malaria spending through the Fund has more than tripled from $47 million in FY02 to $147 million in FY06.

 

The President’s request for FY2007 is approximately $303 million with $222 million in bilateral spending and an estimated $81 million from the Global Fund. Congress has not yet finalized its FY2007 budget though the House has approved a total of $299m through bilateral and multilateral programs and the Senate has approved $414m in total. But planned increases in malaria funding, as well as other global health programs, are less certain now that Congress has announced its intention to pass a Continuing Resolution for FY2007 which will flat line funding for FY2007 at FY2006 levels. If an exception is not made for malaria funding, PMI’s plans to reach an additional 30 million Africans in 2007 will not materialize.

 

Progress to Date
President’s Malaria Initiative
In its first year, PMI made notable progress in the first three countries.

As of October 2006, PMI has reached almost 6 million people with services, supplies and life saving medicines.

 

The Global Fund
The Global Fund currently supports anti-malaria efforts in 84 countries, many of them in Africa. As of December 2006, worldwide Global Fund programs have:

• Delivered more than 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets, an increase of 135% over the past year. It is estimated that those nets will save the lives of 371,000 children over the next three years by protecting them from malaria infection.
• Distributed 5.3 million highly effective anti malaria treatments.
• Protected millions of people through indoor spraying.