Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced his four priorities for his two-year term as Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA). His overall aim is to eliminate malaria from the continent by 2030. The game-changing agenda addresses major challenges in the battle against malaria. These challenges include the insufficient engagement of women, children and…
New global plan to end TB
The Stop TB Partnership launched the Global Plan to End TB 2018-2022 that calls for 2.6 billion USD per year for vital research and development of new tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic tools, new drug regimens and a new vaccine, and 13 billion USD per year for TB care and prevention. With the new Global Plan, the…
MMV@20: Leaders say innovative tools still needed to conquer malaria
The war against malaria will not be won without increased innovation for new, transformative tools, Dr David Reddy, CEO, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has said. Speaking while marking the 20th Anniversary of the MMV, Dr Davd noted that those last 20 years have offered this war vital lessons. “Today is a chance for us…
Tanzania steps war against malaria
Determined to lessen the malaria burden, the United Republic of Tanzania has announced the launch of its national Zero Malaria Starts With Me campaign, becoming the 11th nation to join the ever-growing Pan-African movement. Tanzania is among the highest-burden countries with 93% of the population at risk of malaria The campaign was launched during the…
Strengthening health systems to better fight infectious diseases in Africa
The WHO reports that 13 million people die from infectious diseases each year. In some countries, one in every two deaths is a result of an infectious disease; while in Africa, diseases like HIV/Aids, TB, malaria and hepatitis account for the majority of these deaths. Dr Izukanji Sikazwe, CEO of the Centre of Infectious Disease…
After Malawi, Kenya and Ghana set to launch Malaria Vaccine pilot
Malawi became the first country to launch the first Malaria vaccine pilots and thus providing a potentially valuable new tool in the fight against the disease. Kenya and Ghana will follow next with a combined target of vaccinating around 360,000 children per year in the three countries to evaluate the feasibility of delivering the required…
SADC Heads commit to ending malaria by 2030
Sixteen Heads of State across southern African countries are stepping up commitments to eliminate the malaria disease by 2030. Meeting at the 38th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Heads of State signed the “Windhoek Declaration on Eliminating Malaria in the SADC Region” that…
Africa Prize finalists use engineering to solve local health, energy, education and resource challenges
The inventors of a device that detects malaria without drawing blood, a cheap and sustainable recycling method to recover precious metals, an innovative smart meter that gives consumers more control over energy use and a textbook-sized science lab for kids are the four engineering innovators chosen as finalists for the prestigious 2018 Africa Prize for…