The Monthly - April 2024

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: Gambella refugee camps, Ethiopia

Crisis in South Sudan leads to overcrowding, dire conditions in Gambella refugee camps

"As the world's attention is drawn elsewhere, the people of South Sudan are enduring unimaginable hardship, grappling with ongoing conflict, mass displacement, the ravages of climate change, and an exorbitant cost of living," said UN Asst. Secretary-General Shoko Noda.?

The scale of the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan is staggering: in a country of 12 million people, 9 million South Sudanese are in need of humanitarian assistance, 7 million are facing crisis-level hunger come lean season, and 4.5 million have been forced to flee their homes. Africa's worst displacement crisis has placed a tremendous strain on refugee settlements in neighboring countries. ?

In Gambella, South Sudanese endure dire conditions, life in limbo

Ethiopia's Gambella region is home to nearly 400,000 South Sudanese refugees living in seven camps, a population that almost outnumbers the locals. Over 60% of these refugees are under the age of 18. Many refugee families in Gambella lack proper tents and consistent access to food, clean water and medicine. In recent years, the worsening crisis in South Sudan has contributed to over-crowding and service gaps - with grave consequences.?

?The most deadly threat in Gambella is malaria, which is responsible for 31% of under-5 mortality and 24% of total mortality, per UNHCR. Since 2018, the region has lacked funding to conduct consistent mosquito control efforts and has gone several years between mosquito net distributions. As a result, malaria rates have increased steadily from 2018 to 2022.?

All seven of the refugee camps are experiencing severe shortages of tools, including diagnostic kits and medications, needed to prevent, test, and treat malaria, per UNHCR.?

?Urgent Action is needed, and you can help

United to Beat Malaria and our UN partners are supporting malaria control efforts in Gambella's refugee camps by providing anti-malarial treatments and diagnostics to test and treat 69,000 refugees; and operational support for an indoor residual spraying campaign that will protect over 330,000 camp residents.?

Here's how you can help. Tomorrow (April 25) is World Malaria Day, and we have launched?a World Malaria Day campaign to raise funds to support our work in Gambella.?

All donations will be matched

Throughout April, all donations up to $100,000 will be matched. Don't miss your chance to take action this World Malaria Day and double your donation to much-needed malaria programs in Gambella.?

ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT: US Funding for Malaria Programs

Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bills Include Level Funding for Vital Malaria Programs

In a highly uncertain budgetary and political landscape, United to Beat Malaria welcomes the second package of final Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24)?appropriation bills. The spending package includes $795 million for the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, level with the FY23 enacted budget, and $1.65 billion for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the maximum the U.S. can contribute in the second of a three-year pledge based on matching requirements between U.S. and non-U.S. donor sources.??

Over the past two decades, these two programs have saved 11.7 million lives, averted 2.1 billion cases, and propelled over 20 countries to achieve malaria elimination. Working in close collaboration with one another and partner countries, these life-saving programs not only save lives on a massive scale, but also bolster economies, empower youth, improve diplomatic relations with the U.S., and strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness throughout the malaria-affected world.?

Despite overall cuts to global health programs, Congress sustained funding levels for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria ($29 million), which plays a critical role in malaria research and surveillance, both in the U.S. and in malaria-endemic countries. Further, we’re pleased to see a $10 million increase to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ($300 million), which plays a central role in the malaria vaccine rollout.??

Within a highly constrained budget environment, level funding for malaria programs is a testament to the strong bipartisan support these programs have earned in Congress. Over the years, Beat Malaria Champions from over 40 states have helped strengthen that bipartisan support through year-round advocacy efforts, demonstrating that malaria is a priority in Congressional districts across the country. ?

United to Beat Malaria looks forward to working with Congress and the Administration to ensure robust funding and bipartisan support for bilateral and multilateral malaria programs in FY2025.??

Read the full blog post and learn more about the FY24 spending bill and its impact on global health.

CHAMPION SPOTLIGHT: Jeremiah Nyarko

The Ghanaian basketball star and malaria survivor shares his improbable story

The NBA playoffs have arrived! And to celebrate, we’re excited to introduce our new campaign ambassador, Jeremiah Nyarko. Jeremiah shared his improbable journey in this film.

A native of Ghana, Jeremiah is a budding basketball star who will play for Arizona State University next season. Amazingly, Jeremiah has only been playing basketball for six years; he grew up playing soccer in the suburbs of Ghana’s capital, Accra. For Jeremiah, growing up in Ghana “was an amazing feeling” despite some of the challenges he and his family faced—one of them being malaria. “I used to get malaria two or three times a year. We lost a lot of loved ones to [malaria].”

Jeremiah wants to use his basketball platform to make an impact in the fight against malaria. “I’m willing and wanting to make an impact back home to provide those kids, like with things to prevent them from getting malaria like mosquito nets, screens.I feel like helping beating malaria is going to change our lives. We’re going to live longer, you know. I feel like our life really matters too. So I want to help you guys beat malaria.”

You can follow Jeremiah on Instagram (@jeremiahnyarko_) and stay tuned for more collaborative content with our new Beat Malaria ambassador!