Mozambique: Private sector pledges US$7million to fight malaria over next 3 years

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Mozambique: Private sector pledges US$7million to fight malaria over next 3 years

2:39 CAT | 29 Apr 2022

To mark World Malaria Day, Vestergaard in partnership with Goodbye Malaria and the Mozambique Ministry of Health held a historic conference in Maputo, where the private sector pledged a total US$7million towards the fight against malaria in Mozambique over the next three years.

Vestergaard and Goodbye Malari invited the Mozambique’s Prime Minister and its minister of health to mark World Malaria Day on Monday, 25th April, in Maputo.

Malaria is endemic in Mozambique and, according to a 2021 report, Mozambique is among the six countries with the highest rate of malaria and deaths worldwide (4%), and records the second-highest prevalence (17.2%).

The celebration ceremony took place at Hotel Polana and was attended by Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane, Minister of Health Armindo Tiago, Head of Global Growth and Advocacy at Vestergaard Patrick Sieyes, co-Founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria Sherwin Charles, private sector leaders and business people, government officials, civil society and the Parliamentary Malaria Forum.

Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane said that Mozambique had been making progress in the fight against malaria, while pointing out that the country should not be complaisant, given that malaria remains one of the biggest health problems in Mozambique. For the prime minister, the disease still represents a burden on the health system, and continues to affect the economy and the development process in Mozambique.

According to government estimates, two-and-a-half days’ work are lost for each case of malaria, which reflects a 1.3% loss to gross domestic product.

Head of Global Growth and Advocacy at Vestergaard, Patrick Sieyes, in turn noted that: “World Malaria Day is a great time to recognise progress made in the daily fight against this disease, as well as an opportunity to identify gaps and set new goals. As an important private sector partner in the malaria community, we are professionally dedicated to the fight to end the disease with new innovations and effective and lasting solutions. We support the Global Fund’s replenishment goals to raise $18 billion to save 20 million lives.

“We believe the private sector can contribute to more equitable access to malaria prophylaxis and a more resilient supply chain through strategic long-term sourcing collaborations with key institutions and support for national malaria programs. We call for a partnership approach in malaria prophylaxis planning, and in the commodity procurement and distribution in an approach that leverages the full set of capabilities of the private sector,” Sieyes added.

Co-Founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria, Sherwin Charles, said: “We have made considerable progress in eliminating malaria through innovative partnerships and cross-border collaboration between the governments of Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini, the Global Fund and the private sector. These public-private partnerships foster the acceleration of interventions and innovations, including the targeted delivery of new malaria interventions, improving supply chains, strengthening surveillance and laboratory capacity. They also allow targeted expansion of existing and new instruments, such as the new malaria vaccine (RTS,S). We are confident that we can end the scourge of malaria and free up valuable resources for other public health issues. As malaria knows no borders, the only way to fight this disease is together.”

Malaria eradication efforts brought together the private sector in a union of forces which culminated in the announcement of the availability of a total of US$7 million for the fight against malaria in Mozambique over the next three years from organisations such as ANJE Mozambique, ExxonMobil, Kenmare and Vodacom.

To mark #WorldMalariaDay, Vestergaard in partnership with Goodbye Malaria and the Mozambique Ministry of Health held a historic conference in Maputo, where the private sector pledged a total $7million towards the fight against malaria in Mozambique over the next 3 years. pic.twitter.com/gZNs4d8GR4

— Vestergaard (@vestergaard) April 26, 2022