President Embaló calls for increased domestic funding to eradicate malaria in Africa

TANZANIA—Guinea—Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who also serves as the Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), has called upon African countries to prioritize malaria in their national development agendas.

He emphasized the need for these countries to allocate sufficient resources within their domestic budgets to eradicate malaria.

President Embaló made these remarks during his courtesy visit to the ALMA Secretariat headquarters in Dar es Salaam.

During his visit, the ALMA Chair pointed out that progress against malaria in Africa has stagnated. He warned that the continent is at the center of a perfect storm that threatens to disrupt essential life-saving malaria services and undo decades of progress.

Furthermore, President Embaló underscored the urgent need for countries to take decisive action to mitigate the adverse effects of the ongoing financial crisis, increasing insecticide and drug resistance, climate change, and various humanitarian crises.

He highlighted that these threats represent the most serious emergency facing malaria in the past 20 years and will lead to malaria upsurges and epidemics if not addressed.

Moreover, he highlighted Tanzania’s significant contribution to the fight against malaria, noting that malaria is one of the continent’s most formidable drivers of poverty.

He reiterated the necessity for countries to ensure that they allocate resources within their domestic budgets towards eliminating malaria.

According to President Embaló, this investment would yield an excellent return, resulting in an additional US$127 billion boost to African economies and an US$81 billion boost to international trade if malaria is eradicated.

In addition to financial considerations, President Embaló emphasized the need for fostering shared responsibility, global solidarity, and partnerships.

He called for these elements to ensure the upcoming Global Fund replenishment’s success and that the mobilized resources are directed towards the countries and regions with the highest burden and the least ability to pay.

Moreover, the ALMA Chair urged all countries to follow Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania’s example of launching End Malaria Councils and Funds.

On her part, Tanzania’s Minister for Health, Ms. Ummy Mwalimu, speaking on behalf of Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, noted that Tanzania has made great strides in the fight against malaria.

She highlighted that by targeting the appropriate package of interventions to maximize impact, the country has successfully reduced malaria incidences from 50 percent in the 1990s to 8.1 percent in 2022.

She went on to highlight that Africa needed to prioritize local manufacturing of health commodities to enhance resilience and reduce import dependence

“Tanzania is the continent’s largest producer of Insecticide Treated Nets, and we seek ALMA’s support to adopt new generation nets that address insecticide resistance. We also manufacture larvicides and request Africa CDC’s assistance to assess their quality for continental export,” she added.

Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan also lauded the Ministry of Health for regularly updating her on the quarterly reports from the scorecards.

She confirmed that Tanzania shares its scorecard on the ALMA Scorecard Hub so that other countries can learn from their experiences.

She reported that, in recognition of these efforts, Tanzania has received an award for scorecard excellence and innovation from ALMA and the African Union Commission.

This significant reduction exemplifies the success that can be achieved when nations prioritize and allocate resources effectively in the fight against malaria.

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