2022 Year in Review

Thanks to the bipartisan support of Congress and the generosity of the American people, in 2022, PMI continued our mission to fight malaria and save lives.

Here are a few highlights from our year:

Presidential commitment –  In April, President Biden issued a statement on U.S. leadership in the fight to end malaria: “My Administration is committed to making the vision of a malaria-free future a reality. Together, we can build a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable world for everyone.”

That same month, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited Washington seeking support for the fight against malaria. Her itinerary included attending the Congressional Reception for World Malaria Day where USAID Administrator Samantha Power spoke about the need to support PMI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and the communities who are leading the fight against malaria. “We have a chance to finally end our enduring battle with this disease,” said the Administrator. “Amid all else that ails this world, let us not waste it.”

Getting back on track – COVID-19 disrupted supply chains for antimalarial medicines, infected unvaccinated health workers and made communities fearful of seeking needed testing and treatment — helping malaria resurge. In a January op-ed in The Hill, then-US Global Malaria Coordinator Dr. Raj Panjabi described three actions the world must take to get the fight against malaria back on track: protect frontline workers, reach the unreached, and scale up delivery of the new malaria vaccine. Following the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in June, the U.S. joined global leaders at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in reaffirming commitments to help the world get back on track to end malaria, HIV and tuberculosis while building resilient and sustainable health systems.

Invasive mosquito – The malaria community was buzzing this year when PMI-supported findings from Ethiopia connected malaria outbreaks to the Anopheles stephensi mosquito, a species not native to Africa. By thriving in containers, these mosquitoes are able to survive year round, regardless of rainfall, leading to previously unheard of outbreaks of malaria in the dry season.

In August, PMI helped Ethiopia launch a pilot initiative to kill the mosquitoes before they reach adulthood by applying human-safe chemicals to the water where they breed. Efforts in Ethiopia are generating the data needed to pave the way for the global response to An. stephensi, and PMI is ensuring that information is shared rapidly with the global community to allow for the early detection and rapid response to An. stephensi in new locations.

New leadership – In August, President Biden appointed Dr. David Walton as the U.S. Global Coordinator following the departure of  Dr. Raj Panjabi, who joined the White House in February as a Special Assistant to the President and the Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense on the White House National Security Council.

Jumping right in, Dr. Walton attended United Nations General Assembly and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s Trop Med 2022 conference; made his first overseas visit to meet with colleagues and partners in Rwanda and Tanzania; and participated in the African Leaders Summit in Washington, DC.

Malaria vaccine – Following the historic WHO recommendation of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in late 2021, PMI has worked with global and national partners to translate that recommendation into reality so that the children at risk can receive this life saving intervention. Working closely with international partners such as WHO and Gavi, this year PMI helped develop an expedited process for supporting countries to develop quality vaccine applications. As a part of that process, PMI worked directly with ministries of health to use data to inform malaria vaccine program design. In November, Gavi approved the plans for continued malaria vaccine access in Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana, and will expand support to more countries next year.

Support for  Community Health Workers – In alignment with our 2021-2026 Strategy to End Malaria Faster, PMI deepened its support for  strengthening the systems required to support community health workers, like Herculano in Angola, to deliver life-saving malaria services to their neighbors.

Operational research priorities – In June, in collaboration with the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, PMI published a country-driven list of 33 priority malaria operational research and program evaluation topics for the sub-Saharan Africa region. This was the culmination of a consultative process that engaged 128 global, national, and local stakeholders from 26 malaria endemic countries followed by an external evaluation committee — composed of 17 sub-Saharan Africa based malaria experts — assessing each topic’s relevance and potential for impact. If addressed, the 33 priorities have the potential to expand the reach of live-saving malaria tools and ensure continued progress toward ending malaria.