Add us as your preferred source on Google to see more of our content in Search.
Add to Preferred SourcesThe Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Malaria (RMEI) has announced it will contribute US$83.6 million in new funds for the purpose of eliminating malaria in central America and the Dominican Republic.
The RMEI is formed of three institutions including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carlos Slim Foundation, and was announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“This funding was made possible through the vision and leadership of a diverse group of partners,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation and the End Malaria Council. “This collaboration will build on the unique capabilities and the expertise of each partner to fill financial and technical gaps in the region, demonstrating that we can eliminate malaria today using current tools, and help strengthen health systems in the region, positioning countries for success against other transmitted diseases, such as Zika, dengue and Chikungunya.”
More than US$100 million in national financing and US$39 million in regional donor resources will be used to ensure that treating malaria in order to decrease the number of cases remains a priority. The financing will also serve to close the funding gaps still hindering technical support and begin national elimination plans in countries including Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
Central America has reduced malaria cases by more than 90 percent since 2000 in line with the global decrease, yet advances have stagnated and risk leaving remaining threats unmanaged. The World Health Organization’s latest global report on malaria revealed the first increase in a decade of around 40,000 confirmed cases in Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The Regional Initiative was developed with the support of the End Malaria Council (EMC), a group of world leaders from the public and business sectors dedicated to accelerating the end of malaria. The RMEI follows the work done under the Mesoamerica Health Initiative, a results-based financing association, supported by the IDB, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Government of Spain.
Original source: DevFin
Published on 2 February 2018