Welcome to all of you, and thanks for being here.
We meet to reset our course – to push ourselves to fulfil a shared commitment to end malaria, a high-burdened disease. You are all familiar with the statistics: Since 2022, malaria accounts for over 249 million cases, 94% of which occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and 608,000 deaths worldwide. 76% of these deaths were children under 5. Children under 5, from the poorest households in sub-Saharan Africa, are five times more likely to be infected with malaria than those from wealthier households. Indeed, the burden of malaria weighs on all but is heaviest on those who can neither afford prevention nor cure.
Therefore, I urge us to be bolder in the big push because millions of lives depend on it – millions of children’s lives depend on it.
My second point concerns addressing the plight of community health workers, which I believe to be important to achieving our objective. Nearly 9 million people around the world die annually from preventable causes because of where they live. In Africa, in the face of an estimated $4.4 billion in annual community health funding gap, six million additional health workers will be needed by 2030 to prevent such deaths. If the big push will succeed, we must afford countries the readiness to assume ownership of this problem, and the solution to ending malaria, being more creative and innovative in resource mobilisation as donors’ funds continue to dry up.
In 2014, Liberia’s ownership and leadership, aided by global support, ensured an earlier-than-predicted end to Ebola. Due to programs of Community Health Assistants (CHAs) which we established, malaria services during COVID-19 continued. Today, the CHAs are responsible for the delivery of 45% of all reported malaria treatments for children under 5 in remote communities. There was no decline in the rate of malaria services during the pandemic as CHAs safely went door-to-door to treat children with malaria while screening patients for COVID-19. Suffice to say, when communities are empowered to own the problem, invariably, they will own the solution, and do so sustainably.
Building resiliency in community health must remain at the heart of ensuring a country’s readiness to detect, prevent, cure, and ultimately, eradicate malaria and other diseases. Therefore, making the case for countries’ political prioritisation to end malaria has to include making an even stronger case for improving the lot of community health workers, the backbone of a resilient community health system, and the bridge that links communities to national public health systems by delivering health services to the doorsteps of people, including to the last mile.
If properly supported with dignified salary, continuous training, supervision and supplies, community health workers, 70% of whom are women, can reposition malaria-endemic countries to end the disease. This is what we are trying to achieve with the Africa Frontline First (AFF) Initiative, and in partnership with Africa CDC, The Global Fund and other important partners, to upscale 200,000 community health workers in 10 countries in Africa with training, salaries, and supplies by 2030.
With an economic return on investment of $10 for every $1 spent on a community health worker, we believe this low-hanging fruit will drive essential activities such as raising awareness, mobilising national support, ensuring effective immunization and children nutrition campaigns, while also responding to climate-related health risks and disasters. Showcasing successes in these areas will help countries overcome challenges to their political prioritisation of ending malaria.
My third and final point is that a lot of important work continues to be done in research and development. This makes me even more hopeful that we can end malaria. I am grateful to all of you, including the Gates Foundation and the WHO for the ongoing efforts. Our big push must be advanced through science and research because they provide us the knowledge and tools we will need to achieve this important goal.
But let us never lag in the human-delivery required to make the science acceptable and persuade its good effects to doubtful communities. Let us not forget those who will actually deliver the products of the science and research to the impoverished and underserved communities: The Community Health Workers.
I look forward to an insightful discussion. Thank you.