President Uhuru Kenyatta
President/CE, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Aliko Dangote
11 May 2020 – In response to mounting concerns around the impact of COVID-19 on malaria elimination efforts across the African continent, the African members of the End Malaria Council have released a joint statement and a four-pronged action plan calling on African and global leaders to act quickly to: protect the decades of gains against malaria; boost African purchasing power and local manufacturing of critical medical supplies; continue investments in building an essential health workforce; and, use data to maximize limited resources to save lives.
The End Malaria Council is a committed group of global public sector and business leaders that sees malaria eradication as a critical health and development priority and that drives progress toward eradication by focusing on three key areas: leadership, financing and technology. The signatories of the statement are:
- H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya and Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance
- H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania
- H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia
- Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group
- Graça Machel, Founder, The Graça Machel Trust and Foundation for Community Development
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners recently published a modelling study which shows that deaths from malaria could double in 2020 if access to life-saving malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment services are disrupted. This finding becomes especially concerning as the rainy season in the highest malaria endemic countries across Africa and in India approaches.
