The Tragic Irony of of a Two Punch Combo Against the Poor - Malaria and Poverty

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This blog has done a number of posts in the past on the need to fund Malaria intervention programs around the world. A recent post tried to paint a rosier picture than usual to make the argument that Millennium Development Goal No. 6 was achievable within the next 5 years or at least great strides could be made. I could easily be accused of whistling in the dark because for each positive stride we make the recent economic crisis seems to put us two back.

This May AAAS Science Magazine has a special issue on Tuberculosis and Malaria, two of of focuses for Millennium Development Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Landscapes of Infection -- Hurtley et al. 328 (5980): 841 -- Science

Stella Hurtley, Caroline Ash, Leslie Roberts Infectious disease remains one of the biggest killers in developing countries. Two of them account for an enormous toll: Eleven million people live with tuberculosis (TB), and almost 250 million cases of malaria—and roughly a million deaths among children—were reported in 2008; a staggering assault on human-kind. The 33 million people who live with HIV/AIDS are frequently co-infected with TB and/or malaria, and co-infection increases the overall risk of mortality and morbidity from all three diseases. Once, we aspired to find "magic bullet" solutions to these plagues using vaccines or drugs, but we have learned that there are no cure-all or simple solutions. These pathogens have complex repertoires of genetic resources that permit them to constantly reinvent themselves and escape the pressures applied by infection-control measures. To curb these elusive targets, we, too, need a large repertoire of tools.

In the same issue, Dr. Barry R. Bloom, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and former dean of the Harvard School of Public Health Editorial wrote an editorial in support for Global Health and against the $50 million reduction in funding for the Global Fund requested by the U.S. government for fiscal year 2011. Sorry, but you need to be a paid AAAS member to see the entire magazine.

Editorial Support for Global Health Barry R. Bloom

As more nations struggle with stressed economies, aid to the developing world becomes increasingly vulnerable to governments' budgetary cuts. The industrialized world is recognizing that coordinating global development assistance is the most efficient way to maximize effectiveness and minimize duplication. Earlier this year, the United States, the largest funder of global health assistance, announced that it seeks to expand multilateral efforts to address the major health problems of developing countries. One of the triumphs of multilateral cooperation has been the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a program that has saved millions of lives in developing countries. That is why the $50 million reduction in funding for the Global Fund requested by the U.S. government for fiscal year 2011, in the face of increased requests for expanded coverage by those countries, would be a major setback.

The AAAS report also featured one of the good guys in this struggle, the Malaria Consortium which according to their website works in partnership with communities, health systems, government and non-government agencies, academic institutions and local and international organisations to ensure good evidence supports delivery of effective services. Together, we work to secure access for groups most at risk, to prevention, care and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases.

The problem is that these problems are often so far from us and being always in the same countries that it is easy to think that this is just they way things are. That would be tragic. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek Heath Executive Health almost Half of Deaths in Kids Under 5 Occur in 5 Countries,

TUESDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and blood poisoning account for more than two-thirds of the 8.8 million annual deaths in kids under 5 years of age worldwide, a new report shows.

Adding more of a burden on the tragic irony of the situation, impoverished Women in developing countries are forced to to choose between trying to save their children from malaria and spending money for food to avoid risk losing their children to starvation. An average poor family spends 30 percent of household income fighting malaria.

The good folks at Care2 raised this issue an important truth about focusing on only one aspect of the Millennium Development Goals at a time.

Malaria is economically devastating, too. According to research by Freedom from Hunger, in West Africa very poor families, on average, spend one-third of their income dealing with malaria. It's essential that the UN Capital Development Fund educate women about microfinance opportunities so they can develop the financial resources to fight this deadly disease.

To help you imagine what it means to spend a third of your income just to prevent one disease, that is the percent of income that in the United States is viewed as being an appropriate level for affordable housing. In America, you should expect to pay 30% of your income to pay for your shelter, the greatest essential expense most people in this country have. You can help by clicking here to tell the UN Capital Development Fund to increase these opportunities for women. >>

It is widely recognized that women are the key to getting these countries out of poverty. Giving these women a boost with a micro loan helps them to take that extra step and give themselves permission to be creative and resourceful. These systems are already in place. We just need to make sure they reach these families in time.

The UNCDF or United Nations Capital Development Fund offers a unique combination of investment capital, capacity building and technical advisory services to promote microfinance and local development in the Least Developed Countries

Here is my contribution to the conversation:

As is so often the case, the lack of attention to one of the Millennium Development Goals impacts detrimentally another of the Millennium Development Goals. Millennium Development Goal 3 seeks to address the disenfranchisement of women economically and otherwise even though they usually have primary responsibility for family care. By not addressing their basic human needs it weakens even more their capacity to help address the scourges that Millennium Development Goal 6 seeks to address. It cannot be one of the other, it has to be both, it has to be all eight in truth. For today though, for this step, in light of billion dollar bailouts, we need to address these issues through both fronts being proposed here.

I was number 9,181 and they are trying to get to 10,000 and beyond.

• diigo tags:malaria, millennium development goals, change-agent, infection, mdg6, mdgs, global health, microfinance, UN, UNCDF, millennium development goals, development

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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It's World Malaria Day -- Proof that the Millennium Development Goals are Achieveable

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Today is World Malaria Day. Malaria is one of the targets of Millennium Development Goal No. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The UN Wire reports that World Malaria Day brings us one step closer to our goal

This weekend, thousands of people around the world are showing their commitment to ending malaria deaths by 2015 by Sleeping Out, sending nets, throwing fundraisers, and spreading the buzz about malaria prevention. Sunday, April 25, is World Malaria Day – and just in time for this annual day of recognition for the cause, the World Bank has made an astounding commitment of their own : they are pledging $200 million to provide people in sub Saharan Africa with bed nets. This announcement comes just days…

Emily L. from Care2 Health Policy reminds us to Do Our Part to Commemorate World Malaria Day

December 31, 2010 was the target date UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon set in place for delivering effective mosquito nets to all regions affected by malaria (his words: "universal coverage"). This is an incredibly lofty goal, but that's what makes it so wonderful. We are making real progress toward the eradication of malaria, and moving rapidly toward the Millennium Development Goals.

Of all the Millennium Development Goals, this one seems to have the most focus by the main stream media and the people it follows.

Stars, social media unite for malaria effort

Celebrities are lining up to support an online campaign to urge people to buy insecticide-treated bed nets to help prevent the spread of malaria in Africa. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actor Ashton Kutcher will seek to leverage their followings on the social-media site Twitter to drive the campaign.

The UN aims to reduce the deaths from malaria to near zero in Africa by 2015. So far, more than $4 billion has been raised to fight the disease, mostly from the World Bank, government agencies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The UN expects to cover 800 million people at risk of malaria with bednets, but it is still short of funding for roughly 50 million of those nets, Chambers said.

There is true significant progress being made, this does not mean that we can rest on our laurels though.

Africa's malaria battle progressing, more help promised

Malaria infections are dropping across Africa in response to the World Health Organization's Roll Back Malaria program, according to Rob Newman, director of the WHO's Global Malaria Programme. U.S. officials announced plans to focus part of that country's Global Health Initiative on reaching 450 million women and children in sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of halving malaria rates among the group.

Reuters (4/22) U.S. effort to fight malaria focuses on women

Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:08pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government announced on Thursday it would focus part of its $63 billion, six-year Global Health Initiative plan to accelerate efforts to fight malaria, mostly in Africa and aimed at women and children

AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/22)

INTERVIEW-Africa making "dramatic" headway against malaria

22 Apr 2010 15:36:33 GMT Source: Reuters * Africa making "dramatic" anti-malaria progress * Killer disease's economic burden likely to ease By Ed Cropley

Infection rates in Zambia, for instance, more than halved from 2001 to 2008 due to widespread distribution of mosquito nets, targeted spraying of insecticides and better and cheaper diagnosis and treatment, said Rob Newman, director of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Malaria Programme.

The progress made in the struggle to eradicate malaria has been on many fronts. Government organizations through the United Nations and in developed industrial countries, non-government organizations such as the World Bank and World Health Organization, philanthropic organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The most important factor to my mind was capturing the imagination of the public that this was a terrible challenge that ruined the lives of millions, but that it was a challenge that could be successfully met. We need to do as good as a job as that with the other 7 Millennium Development Goals this September at the UN Millennium Summit.

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Urgent Message To [Insert Your Senator's Name Here] on U.S. International Affairs Budget

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It has been about 3 weeks since I have had a chance to get back to this blog, but luckily this request from ONE only came a couple of days ago.

Tom Hart, Government Relations Director of ONE says that Between now and 2015, we can eliminate malaria as a major public health problem in the world, ensure no child is born with HIV, and prevent more than 4.2 million future child deaths through vaccination.

We can do this through smart investments in global health, with a particular focus on women and young children. But we can't do it without a strong U.S. International Affairs Budget.

I signed the petition asking Senator Barbara Boxer

Please sign the bipartisan budget letter supporting a $58.5 billion International Affairs Budget.

I said:

I hope you support this effort being recommended both by ONE and the US Global Leadership Coalition. There are few things we can do that both help the less fortunate in the world and help our national security.

The deadline of April 9, for senators to sign the letter is coming up fast.

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You Told Your Senator Now Tell President Obama Support Malaria Vaccination Research

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This is still in line with the post I did earlier today. It has been in drafts for over a month but it is an ongoing effort so I decided to put it up.

The Millennium Development Goal No. 6 calls for us to Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases especially malaria and reverse its trend across the globe, but that has to happen one child at a time. Care2 reminds us that the biggest battle against this disease is for the lives of our children. It's time we stop these needless deaths and develop a vaccine against malaria. »

Children are especially susceptible to malaria because of their fledgling immune systems. But scientists are developing a vaccine that could save millions around the world.

The vaccine reproduces the natural immunity against malaria that usually takes years to develop -- so it is especially beneficial to young children. It was extremely successful in tests in Mali, and studies are set to expand.

Tell President Obama to support studies of the malaria vaccine. »

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