Secretary-General, in Message to Roll Back Malaria Meeting, Expresses

 

Concern over Funding Gap Threatening Progress ‘Across the Board’

 

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Hervé Verhoosel, Roll Back Malaria Partnership representative in New York and Head of External Relations, to the Roll Back Malaria meeting on “Positioning malaria in the global development agenda:  2015 and beyond”, in New York on 10 June:

I am pleased to send greetings to all participants at this important meeting on positioning malaria in the global development agenda.  I am grateful to Roll Back Malaria and all of its partners for driving dynamic progress against this disease.

Just last week, I saw the immense convening power of Roll Back Malaria, along with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, when I attended their reception at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.  Leaders from the worlds of government, health, community organizations and even entertainment came together to advocate for sustained efforts in the fight against malaria and the replenishment of the Global Fund.

This reception in Yokohama was another reminder of the power of partnership in our efforts.  We have cut malaria deaths by one third thanks to your strong collaboration and steadfast determination under the Roll Back Malaria Partnership.  I congratulate you.

At the same time, I am concerned about the funding gap that threatens our progress across the board.  As Chair of the Replenishment for the Global Fund, I am personally engaged to overcoming these financial challenges.  I have extended and expanded the mandate of Ray Chambers as my Special Envoy for Malaria and for the Financing of Health Millennium Development Goals.  I am confident that he and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership will continue to collaborate closely with the Global Fund and other partners to overcome the challenges ahead.

I look forward to your ideas on how we might close this funding gap together so we can continue to build on our successes.  For the sake of this important objective, I wish you great success.

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For information media • not an official record