World Malaria Day

New Initiative Will Help Reduce Malaria Drug Prices

Apr 22nd, 2009 1:15 PM UTC
By Rena Pacheco-Theard

The Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria (AMFm) was launched Friday, April 17th, to ensure that those suffering from malaria have access to inexpensive and effective treatment. The AMFm will reduce the price of effective malaria drugs (artemesinin-based combination therapies, ACTs), in order to drive out older, ineffective drugs (like those containing chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) from the market.

ACTs are currently 10-40 times more expensive over the counter than their less effective counterparts. Due to the higher price, many patients continue to purchase the cheaper, less effective drugs. Presently, only one out of every five malaria patients has access to ACTs. With the AMFm, this figure is expected to change, as those who pay for treatments will likely see the price of ACTs go from $6-10 per treatment to about $0.20-0.50. The initiative’s first phase will launch in Benin, Cambodia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.

This innovative initiative to bring down the price of effective malaria drugs, which will be hosted and managed by the Global Fund, was developed by Roll-Back Malaria (RBM). RBM is a global malaria partnership that includes the World Bank, UNICEF, the Dutch Government, the Global Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation. The cost of $225-233 million needed for medicines in the first two years will be supported by UNITAID and the United Kingdom government.

To learn more, read the press release here.

-Rena Pacheco-Theard

Key Figures on Malaria – Just Three Pages!

Apr 22nd, 2009 1:13 PM UTC
By Rena Pacheco-Theard

Roll Back Malaria has combed through the WHO World Malaria Report and the Global Malaria Action Plan to compile some of the top figures on malaria in an easy to use three-page document. Here is a sampling of the information they have gathered:

• Malaria is responsible for nearly one million deaths, mostly children under 5 years
• 91% of malaria deaths occur in Africa
• 3.3 billion people, half of the world’s population, are at risk for malaria
• Malaria results in $12 billion per year in direct losses in Africa, 1.3% of GDP
• 40% of public health spending in sub-Saharan Africa is directed to malaria
• Malaria accounts for over 10% of average household yearly spending in Africa

We know more now than ever before, and the data contained in this document is just what malaria advocates need to make the case for increased efforts and resources in the global fight against malaria.

Learn more by reading the full document here.

-Rena Pacheco-Theard