Presidents Sirleaf and Kikwete - ALMA 2012

Yesterday in Addis Ababa, there was a meeting of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) of 41 African heads of state and government working to end malaria-related deaths on the continent. Recent Nobel Prize laureate, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia assumed the chair of ALMA from President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania. President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique was elected Deputy Chair of ALMA.

“The malaria campaign is emerging as a standout success in the effort to improve the health and welfare of mothers and children, but we cannot lose focus now,” said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “There is a moral and economic imperative to fill the malaria funding gap.”

Today is the meeting of the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. 41 African heads of state and government will take decisions on malaria financing challenges and solutions and agree new commitments to the malaria fight. President Sirleaf of Liberia is due to be elected to succeed President Kikwete of Tanzania as ALMA’s Chair. This afternoon, the two Presidents will speak at a press conference to share ALMA’s recommendations on addressing the malaria funding gap, now close to $3.3billion and threatening the momentum of historic progress on fighting malaria which has seen 33% decrease in malaria deaths in Africa over the last decade.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka

This weekend The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is celebrating its tenth birthday. As we have previously reported, the Fund has achieved tremendous success in the past ten years, but it has also struggled in recent times to secure the funding necessary to save more lives from AIDS, TB and malaria.

The good news is that a number of donors and celebrities have taken the opportunity of the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to voice their support for the Fund. Both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Japan have announced multi-million dollar contributions to the Global Fund. And celebrities from Bono to Bill Clinton have released a video of support testifying to the impact the Fund has made on the health of millions of people in the past 10 years.

Yesterday a number of the our team joined our friends at the Global Poverty Project to hear Bill Gates launch his annual letter setting out his priorities for the year.

Speaking to a packed house at London School of Economics, Bill Gates spoke passionately about the need to invest in new technology to overcome challenges we all face to help feed the world and to reduce the suffering and death caused by diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. He highlighted the incredible achievement of India this year – marking a year since the last case of polio in the country – and the possibilty now that polio could be eradicated (making it only the second disease after small pox for which this woud be achieved). And he ended by renewing his own commmitment to international aid, referring to his report to the G20 about innovative financing.

This month sees the launch of our brand new Faith Toolkit – a practical resource to provide faith groups with all they need to raise awareness and funds to help save lives from malaria. The Faith Toolkit has been developed by Faiths Act Fellows Charlotte and Usman who are based at Malaria No More UK this year, helping to engage and unite different faith communities across the UK in the fight against malaria.

Volunteers hanging up nets in Aboabusu, Ghana

On 28 January 2012 the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria will celebrate its tenth birthday. The Fund accounts for around two thirds of all international aid funding for malaria and is vital to helping prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.

It is hard to visualise the sheer scale of what the Fund has achieved through the support of its donors (including the British and American governments) and partners in developing countries. An unprecedented global health initiative, the Fund has saved almost 8 million lives in the past ten years.

Nowhere to Hide is our latest awareness campaign showing how we’ve got malaria on the run and need your help to keep up the momentum. It shares good news: Global efforts to fight malaria are already saving over 485 children’s lives every day.