With an upsurge in malaria cases on the horizon, President Duma Boko has implored Africans to rise to the occasion by tapping into their national resources to fill the void left by the suspension of USAID
BONGANI MALUNGA
President Duma Boko has appealed to African nations to rise to the challenge presented by the suspension of USAID by mobilising their national resources to combat diseases like malaria.
Speaking at the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa recently, the President championed a new approach in which Africa should invest in its own health systems.
Boko – who was appointed as the new Chairman of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), revealed that the southern African region is bracing for an upsurge in malaria cases due to heavy rains.
A tall order
The new ALMA leader used his introductory speech to acknowledge that the sudden suspension of global aid by the US government makes the fight against malaria “a tall order”.
However, he stressed that the continent should move on and adopt a response centred on continental cooperation.
“The task before us is both challenging and urgent,” he said. “Our progress has stalled, and the hard truth is that we are not on track.
A perfect storm
“A perfect storm of threats, insufficient resources, climate change, biological risks and humanitarian crises threaten to undermine our efforts.
“The upcoming global fund replenishment will determine whether we sustain our progress or fall further behind.
“The recent decision of the US government to suspend aid has without doubt knocked us further off track because we did not have sufficient time to prepare ourselves with lifesaving commodities (that are) either lying undistributed or with delayed delivery.
Emergency funds
“Securing the resources needed to combat malaria and fill those critical gaps with renewed energy is imperative. Africa must urgently rise to the challenge by mobilising domestic resources, including drawing down on resources in our emergency funds or increasing our health budget allocations.
Alternatively, President Boko encouraged African countries to scale up financing through platforms such as the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) and the Green Climate Fund to ensure that national programmes are equipped to drive the malaria agenda forward.