Communities should be directly involved in addressing the problems that affect them. Local institutions such as universities, NGOs, businesses, and civil society are uniquely positioned to help their neighbors solve complex local problems such as malaria.
Over the past 15 years, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has seen that malaria control activities have been most successful when partner countries and affected communities lead these efforts.
Local partnerships are invaluable to PMI’s work. For example, PMI partners with more than 40 local research institutions to implement critical entomological monitoring activities that form the backbone of our vector control programs. For case management, we partner with more than 15 local NGOs and research institutions to monitor and analyze drug resistance and support health workers at facilities and in the community. In close collaboration with National Malaria Control Programs, PMI’s operational research approach has included partnerships with more than 30 local research institutions to design and conduct research to address important country-driven challenges.
But we haven’t done enough in working directly with local institutions. And we want to do more.
We hear the views shared by those in the malaria, global health, and development communities—especially from our colleagues in malaria endemic countries. We agree with the six researchers who wrote in a recent letter to Nature that “There is a way to create equitable and dignified partnerships and to defeat the diseases that threaten everyone.” We are grateful for their voices, their expertise, and their critique.
We want to do more to create equitable and dignified partnerships. We welcome the ideas of local researchers, leaders, and organizations to help us do so. PMI’s pending new strategy has stated as a priority “invest more in people and partners closest to those we serve”—specifically local leaders, researchers and organizations. We will soon open our draft strategy for public comment. When we do, we will intentionally create space to learn from local researchers, leaders and organizations. We count on the ideas of those who share the lived experiences of communities most affected by malaria to strengthen our work.
We all share a common goal of ending malaria faster. And we believe that goal can only be achieved together.