Beating Malaria in Tanzania and Uganda

Oct 6th, 2009 12:44 PM UTC
By ONE Partners

In August Gabrielle Fitzgerald of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation chronicled an extraordinary five-day journey through Tanzania and Uganda on the ONE Blog. Joining her were Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Mr. Ray Chambers, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria, and Dr. Tachi Yamada, President of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gabrielle reflects on their visit, and the progress being made in the fight against malaria in Tanzania and Uganda:

Last month, we had the pleasure of travelling together to Tanzania and Uganda to review progress toward achieving the 2010 malaria goals. Our five-day visit took us to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kampala, with meetings in the capitals and site visits to villages in the surrounding area.

Along the way, we met impressive individuals at every stop who showcased the commitment that is required to fight an enemy as difficult as malaria. From Hassan Mshinda, a leader in science and technology in Tanzania, to Dr. Abdullah Ali, Zanzibar’s malaria director, to Kyagularyi Augustus, a subsistence farmer and community drug distributor who is a hero to his village of Bulimba, Uganda, we were continuously impressed by the dedicated professionals and volunteers who are contributing to the fight against malaria.

We also saw numerous examples of “African solutions to African problems.” We met with executives of local companies such as A to Z Ltd, which manufactures nets from a locally-owned factory in Arusha, Tanzania, and Quality Chemicals, which produces anti-malarial medicines in Kampala. We toured the research facility of the Bagamoyo Research and Training Center of the Ifakara Health Institute, which is leading the clinical trials of a new malaria vaccine candidate. And we joined a press conference with representatives from MTN and the Uganda Football Association, who are joining together with other partners to raise awareness about malaria through the United Against Malaria campaign.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to an empty pediatric ward at the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Zanzibar, which just three years earlier had been over-capacity with children sick from malaria. Seeing that ward was an affirmation that progress in malaria is possible, and is in fact happening. This outcome was due to both Zanzibar’s commitment to fighting malaria, paired with a highly-functioning health system.

The level of political engagement in both countries was very energizing, as evidenced in meetings with H.E. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and H.E. Vice President Gilbert Bukenya of Uganda. Both countries are fully committed to reaching the 2010 malaria targets. However, there are challenges that need to be managed to meet those targets. There are bottlenecks with funding, procurement and delivery of essential commodities. The good news is that those challenges are being addressed, particularly as this trip enabled meaningful and impactful discussions around issues pertaining to the disbursement of critical Global Fund resources.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the trip was seeing the impact of donor funds at work. Everywhere we went, we heard stories of what’s been able to be done with funding from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.

In the coming months, we plan to share what we learned on the progress and challenges toward reaching the 2010 malaria goals, through media interviews and speeches. We want to ensure that there is a greater understanding that development aid is working, as evidenced by the progress in malaria.

We hope that others will be as inspired as we were by the tremendous progress being made. The collective efforts of so many people are beginning to pay off, to ensure that malaria is no longer needlessly causing the suffering it has for too long in too many places.

Gabrielle Fitzgerald, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

TAGS: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, On the Ground in Uganda and Tanzania