E8 awarded new regional grant from the Global Fund

The Elimination 8 (E8) has been approved for $17.8 million from the Global Fund to synchronize malaria elimination efforts in the southern Africa region. The grant will likely be signed in the next month. The new E8 grant will expand surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment for mobile and border populations with the aim to eliminate malaria in the "frontline four" (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) by 2020. However, this goal will only be achieved if there is greater coordination with their northern neighbors, or "second line" countries (Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), where the incidence of malaria is much higher.