Intensifying the Fight Against Malaria: The World Bank's Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa (Document of the World Bank)

Description

An estimated 500 million cases of malaria occur each year, taking the lives of 1 million people, including 3,000 children each day. Ninety percent of these deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease kills more children than any other. Malaria is not only a major public health issue but also a broader development problem that costs Africa US$12 billion a year, stalling economic and social development. In 2005, the World Bank reaffirmed its commitment to malaria control by launching the Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa, a 10-year initiative that in its first three years committed over US$470 million to controlling malaria in Africa. By combining disease control interventions and health systems strengthening, Phase I of the program has contributed significantly to the global effort to fight the disease. The Booster Program has begun implementation of its second three-year phase through which the World Bank, as one of the three major financiers of malaria control in Africa, will intensify its efforts to help more African countries to achieve and sustain large-scale impact on malaria. Intensifying the Fight against Malaria: The World Bank s Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa describes the program, its achievements during the first three years, and the design of Phase two. Whereas Phase I took advantage of relatively facile opportunities to support countries malaria control goals, Phase II is more strategic and builds on the successes of and lessons learned from Phase I. It also capitalizes on the Bank s strengths in facilitating cross-border and multisectoral projects, providing large-scale, flexible funding, and initiating high-level policy dialogue in client countries. Phase II rests on five pillars: 1.Enhancing regional and cross-border prevention and control 2.Intensifying support to two high-burden countries with high unmet need, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria 3.Providing sustained support for ongoing programs and a targeted approach to new country efforts 4.Facilitating policies and strategies to increase equitable access to effective treatment 5.Strengthening essential health systems to scale up the delivery of malaria interventions. African countries and the global community have seized on the intense energy around malaria by making a commitment to eliminate it as a major public health issue in Africa. Through Phase II of the Booster Program, the World Bank is called to play a crucial role in helping Africa to defeat malaria and to keep moving toward its path of economic growth and social development.