Africa: $336m to fight malaria

  1. Posted on Saturday 7 November 2009 - 09:10
    accreporter
    Image of accreporter
    Kent Mensah, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana office
    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has released US$336 million to Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria to purchase more than 50 million long-lasting insecticidal nets in the next few months. The move amounts to a 2/3 increase of the number of bed nets in Africa.
    malaria_1
    According to a statement from the Global Fund office: “The funds are expected to pay for 26 million long-lasting insecticidal nets in Nigeria, 11 million in Ethiopia, 7.3 million in Uganda, 4.8 million in Tanzania and 1 million in Kenya. This will help these countries move towards universal coverage targets of 80% coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets by 2010.”

    “These bed nets will help prevent millions of cases of malaria over the next few months alone,” said Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Malaria was a neglected disease when the Global Fund started but we are now at a point where reaching global targets for malaria is no longer fanciful but something that can actually be achieved,” he said.

    Each day approximately 2,200 Africans die from malaria, 85 percent are children under 5 years of age. Malaria has been estimated to cost Africa more than US$12 billion every year in lost GDP, even though it could be controlled for a fraction of that sum. In countries that have conducted mass distribution of bed nets containing insecticides, deaths from malaria have dropped dramatically in a short period of time.

    The statement said the Global Fund supported programmes have distributed 88 million insecticide treated bed nets worldwide. 68.4 million of these bed nets were distributed in Africa – the continent that contains about 90% of malaria deaths.

Latest News

  1. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress11:50In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  2. Combating HIV infections among African women10:30With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  3. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  4. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  5. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  6. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  7. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  8. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  9. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  10. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  11. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  12. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  13. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  14. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
  15. Clashes in Senegal as Wade seek third term30/01Clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital Dakar and several other city cities ; after the Constitutional Council said President Abdoulaye Wade co…
News archive