Congressional policymakers, Administration officials, and the malaria community gathered in person for the first World Malaria Day reception in two years on April 26 in the Russell Senate Office Building.
Malaria No More, the UN Foundation, and the Malaria Roundtable organized the event to celebrate the significant successes of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, despite the challenges of saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I do not apologize one bit for saying that our fight against malaria is a national security issue,” said Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS). Photo by Malaria No More]
Event hosts and co-chairs of the Senate Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) opened with remarks full of hope and congratulations and commitment to ending malaria for good.
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) shakes hands with Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “As long as there is one more village, one more mother, one more child dying of this entirely preventable disease, I will not stop,” said the senator in his remarks. Photo by Malaria No More]
In her statement, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said, “The achievement of the last 20 years of saving 10.6 million lives and preventing 1.7 billion cases of malaria is one of the greatest global health achievements of this century…We must continue to build on this success.”
Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with Acting U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Julie Wallace at the congressional reception. Photo by Malaria No More]
Dr. Donald Kaberuka, CEO of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria urged for increased global investment heading into the fund’s 7th Replenishment Conference later this year, which will be hosted by President Joe Biden. “The last 20 years have been unprecedented in human history…because of the focused attention we have given to HIV, TB, and malaria. This happened because of U.S. leadership.”
USAID Administrator Samantha Power recapped the United States’ own history of defeating malaria at home and other key moments in the fight toward eradicating this disease for good.
“What we need is the funding and the support—for the President’s Malaria Initiative, for the Global Fund, and for the communities who are leading the fight on the ground,” said Administrator Power in closing. “We have a chance to finally end our enduring battle with this disease. Amid all else that ails this world, let us not waste it.”
The full text of Ambassador Samantha Power’s remarks can be found on USAID.gov.