At ‘Financing for New Era’ Event, Secretary-General Underlines Unprecedented Opportunity to End Malaria, Urges Bolstered Efforts

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the event on Malaria:  “Financing for a New Era”, in Addis Ababa today:

I am pleased to join you at this meeting on malaria “Financing for a New Era”.  We are coming to the end of an extraordinary period in the fight against malaria.  The final report on the Millennium Development Goals tells us that malaria deaths have reached an all-time low.  Our success has been a collective effort forged by partnerships.  It could not have been possible without the contributions of every part of our coalition.

I would like to thank the Heads of State and Ministers of Health and Finance for their effort and leadership, especially the African Leaders Malaria Alliance and its chair, His Excellency Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.  I thank the World Health Organization (WHO), led by Director-General Margaret Chan, who has been a stalwart ally in the fight against malaria.  I thank the broad coalition of committed partners under the Roll Back Malaria Partnership.  And I thank the multitude of international funders, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB [tuberculosis] and Malaria, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.

As we move towards a new set of global goals for sustainable development, we have an unprecedented opportunity to put an end to the global threat of malaria once and for all.  And we have the strategic vision to do so.  It is outlined in WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s Action and Investment to Defeat Malaria, both of which are presented here today.  They provide a comprehensive framework to guide efforts to reduce malaria by 90 per cent by 2030.  Achieving this will take continued and greater investments from all countries, including a robust replenishment of the Global Fund.

Later today, we will be launching the Global Financing Facility in support of “Every woman, every child”.  This is a country-led partnership that aims to mobilize additional domestic and international resources to scale up and sustain essential health services, including for malaria, for women, children and adolescents.

We will also need continued coordination of our efforts, with clear targets to drive us towards our ultimate goal — the end of malaria.  We have come far and achieved much over the last 15 years, but there is still much to do.  I am confident that with your continued commitment, we will achieve our ultimate goal of a world free of malaria.  Thank you very much.