African leaders on Sunday endorsed a new roadmap that will see malaria eliminated from across the continent by 2030. The roadmap dubbed Catalytic Framework to end AIDS, TB and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030, was adopted during a meeting held on the sidelines of the African Union summit that is underway here in Kigali. The meeting was organised by the African Union Commission and chaired by President Idriss Déby, chair of the AU, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and AIDS Watch Africa. Déby, who is also the president of Chad, urged leaders to redouble their efforts to sustain existing donor funding and ramp up domestic resources to ensure the success of the roadmap and implementation of innovative health solutions to eliminate malaria. “Today, Africa’s leaders have again shown their commitment to the fight to end malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB by adopting the Catalytic Framework to end AIDS, TB and Eliminate Malaria by 2030 with clear targets and milestones. “Through our continued leadership and increased cooperation to finance and provide lifesaving anti-malaria interventions, we can sustain our momentum and achieve a malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB -free Africa” said Déby. Since 2000, malaria mortality rates in Africa have fallen by 66 percent among all age groups and by 71 percent among children under five years old. Annual malaria deaths in Africa have decreased from an estimated 764,000 in 2000 to 395,000 in 2015. Still, malaria remains one of the top causes of morbidity in pregnant women and mortality in children under five. A ground-breaking coalition of 49 heads of state and government, ALMA has worked with governments to keep malaria high on the national and international development agenda since its founding in 2009. “African leadership is our most powerful weapon in the war against malaria,” said Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of ALMA. “In renewing their commitment to fight malaria and endorsing a framework to get us there, African leaders have brought us one step closer to an Africa free of malaria.” The meeting pushed for the accelerated implementation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa; emphasizing the need for improved quality of locally produced commodities as well as access and affordability. President Déby emphasized the importance of local manufacturing in each sub region as a vehicle for both improved health services and employment creation. According to a statement, leaders at the Summit also commended international donors – calling on partners to fully replenish the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria this year at the Global Fund Replenishment Conference. They committed to increased domestic financing from both the public and private sectors and endorsed the domestic financing scorecard introduced by the AUC. The Catalytic Framework was adopted and it defines continent-wide goals for HIV/AIDS TB, and Malaria, focusing on the guiding principles of country ownership and leadership, financial and political commitment, equal access to health services for vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, and robust surveillance and response systems.
