To Defeat Malaria - More of the Same Will Not Do

The United States eliminated malaria more than 70 years ago.?Since then, 42 more countries have done the same.?Globally, malaria cases have been cut in half in the last 20 years. ?We have the ability to end malaria for good.?However, even prior to the pandemic, progress against malaria flat-lined. And COVID led to backsliding and significant increases in malaria cases and deaths.?Sadly, these setbacks almost exclusively impacted nations and people experiencing the worst poverty.?

What worked up to now in the fight, will no longer get us back on track. More of the same will not do. The malaria community must be simultaneously aggressive and progressive. And there is reason for hope. A vaccine and upgraded nets are newly available – if not at sufficient scale. And perhaps more importantly, there are several ground-breaking approaches on the verge of availability – monoclonal antibodies, genetically altered mosquitos, Wolbachia-infected mosquitos, private sector innovations, digital diagnosis, better data systems, and still others. We need them all.

The malaria-fighting community has had much laudable success over the decades using the current tools.?And hence, can be slow to change. The malaria prevention and treatment approaches currently deployed do have impact. ?And they are still needed.? Project HOPE is among many that help deploy malaria prevention and treatment as part of good primary health in countries like Malawi, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.

Bold, progressive leadership is needed at the World Health Organization , PMI, The Global Fund , the UN, Malaria No More , United to Beat Malaria , and others engaged in the noble fight against malaria.?A leadership that simultaneously holds the ground already hard won against malaria and also aggressively brings the new weapons onto the battlefield.?Some risk will be involved.?And hard tradeoffs may be required to move money from the tried and true (but also slowly failing) current tools, into new techniques.?Such decisions will not be easy, or well-received by all involved in the malaria fight.?Decades of battling a deadly disease can create entrenchment.? Additional resources would make those decisions easier, but there will never be all the money needed. Thus, the call for bold leaders and progressive thinkers.

I am greatly encouraged by both the people maintaining the current fight as well as those crafting new and innovative approaches.?And if we can bring them together – quickly – this ancient scourge can be defeated once and, literally, for all. ?

The author helped conceive and launch the President’s Malaria Initiative and recently served as U.S. Deputy Global Malaria Coordinator.?He is currently Director for Policy and Advocacy at Project HOPE.

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