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"The toll of malaria is even more tragic because the
disease itself is highly treatable and preventable. Yet this is also our
opportunity, because we know that large-scale action can defeat this disease in
whole regions. And the world must take that action."
-- President George W. Bush
June 30, 2005
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US
government
As a testimony of United
States engagement in the fight against malaria, “On June 30, 2005, President
Bush announced the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI),
a United States government program designed to cut malaria deaths in half in
target countries in sub-Saharan Africa after 3 years of full implementation.” The first three target countries are Angola, Tanzania,
and Uganda. The goal is to extend coverage to 85 percent
of the most effected populations: children under 5 years of age, pregnant
women, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. The United States
has pledged to increase funding by $1.2 billion over five years, which will be
in addition to the $200 million the US spends today on prevention,
treatment, and research. The PMI will
work in conjunction with the United
States Department of State, the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), The World Bank, the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The American Red Cross, and the Roll
Back Malaria Partnership. The PMI
has vowed to increase funding for treatment and prevention, but how are these
monies to be used?
The US’s stance on
combating malaria and the means they are willing to use can largely be
extrapolated from the organization that the PMI is sponsoring. Of these, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Global
Partnership, which was launched in 1998 by the World Health Organization,
UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank, “highlight[s] the need to provide universal
access to artemisinin-based
combination therapies (ACTs) and call for these treatments to reach those who
need them as quickly as possible.” RBM
goes so far as to state that “Universal Access to Effective Malaria Treatment
is a Human Right.” On the other hand the
US
chose not to fund artemisinin. The US seems unsure
as to what the most appropriate measures are, and they are somewhat unsure as
to what they are really combating. Is this malaria or poverty?
We
are not doing enough to combat this deadly disease and I implore the US
government as well as the US people to realize this and help make a
difference. Change the world view on malaria and stop it from
killing millions a year.
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