As the World Malaria Day is marked globally, president of Dangote Group and United Nations’ Malaria Ambassador for Nigeria, Aliko Dangote has called for joint actions by all stakeholders globally if the collective goal of the disease elimination by 2030 is to be achieved.
Dangote, in his World Malaria Day statement titled ‘With Urgent Investment, Innovation and Implementation, Zero Malaria Spread is Possible’ urged that, all stakeholders must work together to decimate malaria, which, he said, had brought untold human suffering with the economic toll of the disease on global productivity.
According to him, urgent investment, innovation and implementation by such stakeholders would help curtail malaria spread wherever the disease is found around the world.
Dangote disclosed that, since 2000, global partnerships and investments in the fight against malaria have yielded positive results by preventing some 2 billion malaria cases, saving 11.7 million lives and putting eradication within reach.
He, however, lamented that 96 per cent of malaria deaths globally were found in 29 countries, with Nigeria sadly among the four countries which accounted for over half of all malaria deaths globally in 2021.
He said, this year’s World Malaria Day (WMD) has presented an opportunity to galvanise global efforts towards advocacy and sustained political will and investment that will be aimed at ending the scourge of the disease.
Dangote expressed his readiness to lead the way, pledging that Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) will further strengthen its engagements with the various key stakeholders in Nigeria and globally to support the efforts to address malaria in workplaces, communities, and especially high burden areas to attain collective goal of malaria elimination by 2030.
The philanthropist noted that, billions of dollars were pledged by donors at the historic Global Fund Replenishment meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in 2022 to boost the fight against HIV, TB and Malaria.
He, however, expressed regret that an unprecedented shortfall of more than 50 per cent in global malaria funding is now holding countries back from maintaining life-saving malaria programmes, despite the historic pledge.
Consequently, the Malaria Ambassador said, the funding gaps have been contributing to declining progress in the countries with the highest burden of malaria.
Dangote stated that the theme of this year’s World Malaria Day: ‘Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, implement’ highlighted the need for urgent action and further investments to ensure existing investments deliver maximum impact in the fight to end malaria.
Dangote acknowledged the positive efforts of the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as the second national drug regulator to approve the use of the R21 vaccine, saying, the fight against the malaria scourge has been buoyed by the introduction of the new malaria vaccine -R21/Matrix-M, which was developed by the University of Oxford and will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.