African Leaders Launch New Campaign For A Malaria-Free Continent

Today marks the launch of ‘Zero Malaria Starts With Me’, a continent-wide campaign co-led by the African Union Commission and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.

The campaign, which was unveiled on Sunday by Senegal President Macky Sall and endorsed by 55 African Heads of State and Government during the AIDS Watch Africa Meeting at the 31st African Union Summit, is set out to empower communities to get more involved in the fight against the disease that kills over 400,000 Africans every year.

The campaign is aimed at putting the society back on track towards efforts that contributed to a 60% decline in malaria cases and saved an estimated 7 million lives since 2000, and to help meet the goal of eliminating malaria across Africa by 2030.

Speaking at the summit, Sall said “In my country, malaria has long been a major public health concern threatening the socio-economic development and structural transformation trajectory that has put our country on a firm path to sustainable development. It is through national ownership, shared responsibility and global solidarity that we can defeat malaria for good.”

On his own part King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, a Chairperson of the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance, explained that “This campaign further reinvigorates our commitment to eliminate malaria in Africa as we now call upon all our people at all levels to work with us in ridding our continent of this scourge.

“I urge all governments to invest more in fighting the disease, however the success of this campaign will depend on partnerships and on collaboration across sectors and amongst our population, for as government, we cannot win this fight against malaria alone.”

Over 20 African nations have committed to support this campaign, with presidents of Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique already launching nationwide campaigns that include large-scale bed net distribution drives to establishing high-level national End Malaria Councils and parliamentary groups on malaria.

Others include the First Ladies of Ghana and Niger, who have pledged to do more to engage leaders and communities to fight malaria in their countries.

Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign has been rolled out across the African continent to encourage all citizens, cutting across political, business, community and religious leaders, as well as individuals, families, and communities, to make a personal commitment to ending malaria for good.