Two African presidents have written for SciDev.Net about the urgent need to eradicate deadly malaria affecting millions of people in Africa.
Presidents Umaro Sissoco EmbalĂł, of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, and Duma Gideon Boko, of the Republic of Botswana, sound the alarm on the fight against the disease which in 2023 led to the deaths of 569,000 people on the continent.
The two men, who are respectively outgoing and incoming presidents of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), say that Africa continues to lag critically behind in its malaria control commitments. With five years to until the African Union’s target date of 2030 for eliminating the disease on the continent, they say African states “must change history by taking a major step forward towards a malaria-free Africa.”
Paths to salvation
Writing as part of a thought leadership article published by the French-language Sub-Saharan Africa desk of SciDev.Net – the world’s leading source of news about science and technology for global development – the Presidents say that “through collective leadership and audacious action, Africa can rid itself of the disease.”
They write: “We need to include malaria and neglected tropical diseases as well as health in our Nationally Determined Contributions, which guide us in our adaptation to the impacts of climate change.”
The article highlights that, in 2015, African Heads of State and Government committed to eliminating malaria on the continent by 2030, setting an ambitious but essential goal in terms of public health, as well as economic and sustainable development.
The African Union’s framework to end AIDS, tuberculosis and eliminate malaria by 2030 provides a clear roadmap to achieve this goal, the Presidents write.
Lagging behind
However, they say, with five years to go before the target date, Africa continues to lag critically behind in its malaria control commitments.
In addition to focusing on reducing the burden of malaria in countries that are highly impacted by malaria, the Presidents say that there is a need to support countries with lower malaria impacts and those on track to eliminate malaria in the final stretch of their fight, and that African countries need to use their own resources to do this.
“It is imperative to secure the resources needed to fight malaria and to address these critical gaps with new impetus. Africa must urgently address the challenge of declining development assistance by mobilising its own domestic resources and increasing our budget allocation for health,” they add.
Ben Deighton, Managing Editor of SciDev.Net, said having the two African Presidents write for SciDev.Net is testament to the platform’s importance as the leading source of news about science and technology for global development.
“The fact that SciDev.Net was chosen by the presidential teams in Botswana and Guinea-Bissau to carry this story highlights the importance of SciDev.Net’s voice in the global development community,” he said.
You can read the full article on SciDev.Net here. It is written in French but can be translated using Google Translate.
Additional information
Main image: Presidents Duma Gideon Boko of Botswana (left) and Umaro Sissoco EmbalĂł of Guinea Bissau (Credit: ALMA).
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