New report outlines vision for eradicating malaria

During September’s UN General Assembly, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria, released an in-depth report titled From Aspiration to Action: What Will It Take to End Malaria?. Released after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, the new report seeks to spark a serious conversation among leaders, donors, researchers, and endemic countries about what actions are required to achieve a malaria-free world within a generation.

From Aspiration to Action highlights three key areas that require innovation in order to successfully eradicate malaria: new strategies and approaches, new tools, and new financing mechanisms. Working back from a theoretical eradication date of 2040, the report breaks down the required actions in five year increments. The report urges major donors and malaria-affected countries to expand financial and political commitment for the fight against malaria, and declares that eradication could save 11 million lives and could unlock $2 trillion in economic benefits.

“Eradication is the only sustainable solution to malaria,” said Mr. Gates. “The alternative would be endless investment in the development of new drugs and insecticides just to stay one step ahead of resistance. The world can’t afford that approach.”

Read the full press release: New Report Outlines Vision for Ending Malaria