About The President's Malaria Initiative
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| Workers trained in IRS march on World Malaria Day in Agoro Sare, Kenya. Source: James Kei/The Standard |
The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) represents an historic five-year expansion of U.S. Government (USG) resources to fight malaria in the region most affected by the disease. The President committed an additional $1.2 billion in malaria funding to this Initiative with the goal of reducing malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 focus countries. This will be achieved by expanding coverage of highly effective malaria prevention and treatment measures to 85 percent of the most vulnerable populations – children under 5 years of age and pregnant women. This package of high-impact interventions includes insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides, intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp), and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Read Fast Facts About PMI [PDF, 326KB].
PMI Background
Structure: PMI is an interagency initiative led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented together with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is overseen by a PMI Coordinator and an Interagency Steering Group made up of representatives of USAID, CDC/HHS, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Office of Management and Budget. |
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Read the PMI Second Annual Report: Progress Through Partnerships - Saving Lives in Africa, March 2008 [PDF, 5.3MB] |
Country Selection: The 15 focus countries were selected and approved by the Coordinator and the Interagency Steering Group using the following criteria:
- High malaria disease burden;
- National malaria control policies consistent with the internationally accepted standards of the World Health Organization;
- Capacity to implement such policies;
- Willingness to partner with the United States to fight malaria; and
- Involvement of other international donors and partners in national malaria control efforts.
Approach: PMI is organized around four operational principles based on lessons learned from more than 50 years of USG efforts in fighting malaria, together with experience gained from implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which began in 2003. The PMI approach involves:
- Use of a comprehensive, integrated package of proven prevention and treatment interventions;
- Strengthening of health systems and integrated maternal and child health services;
- Commitment to strengthen national malaria control programs and to build capacity for country ownership of malaria control efforts; and
- Close coordination with international and in-country partners.
PMI works within the overall strategy and plan of the host country’s national malaria control programs and planning and implementation of PMI activities are coordinated closely with each Ministry of Health.
PMI Partnership
NGOs and FBOs: Partnerships are at the heart of PMI’s strategy and during the past year, PMI greatly expanded its collaboration with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and faith-based organizations (FBOs). In December 2006, the First Lady announced the launch of the Malaria Communities Program to support small NGOs and FBOs that are involved in malaria-related activities in PMI focus countries. Five grants were awarded to NGOs and local organizations in 2007, and more grants will be awarded in future years. To date, PMI has supported more than 70 nonprofit organizations, of which more than 20 are faith based.Private sector: PMI continues to leverage private sector support. In partnership with Malaria No More and others, PMI distributed free LLINs through national campaigns in Uganda, Madagascar, and Mali. In Zambia, PMI and PEPFAR joined with the Global Business Coalition to distribute more than 500,000 long-lasting ITNs through home-based care programs serving people affected by HIV/AIDS. In total, more than 6.5 million nets have been distributed through public-private partnerships such as these.
Progress After Two Years of Implementation
After the President’s announcement, PMI moved quickly to begin field implementation in early 2006. In the first year, PMI reached more than 6 million people in its initial three countries. During Year 2, PMI-supported activities benefited well over 25 million people in the first seven focus countries and, through early activities, the eight new fiscal year 2008 countries.
PMI accomplishments to date include:
- IRS in 10 PMI countries, benefiting more than 17 million people.
- Procurement of more than 6 million LLINs, two-thirds of which have been distributed. Also, PMI supported the re-treatment of more than 1.1 million regular nets, and an additional 875,000 re-treatment kits have been procured and distributed.
- Procurement of 12.7 million treatments of highly effective ACTs, of which 7.4 million have already been distributed to health facilities. PMI has trained more than 29,000 health workers in the correct use of ACTs.
- Procurement of more than 1.35 million treatments for IPTp to reduce the impact of malaria in pregnancy. PMI has also provided training for more than 5,000 health workers on how to administer these treatments correctly.
- Capacity building of NMCPs in the areas of pharmaceutical management, diagnosis, IRS, malaria in pregnancy, and monitoring and evaluation.
Malaria at a Glance
- Each year, an estimated 300 million to 500
million people become ill with malaria, and
more than 1 million die. - Every 30 seconds, an African child dies of malaria.
- More than 80 percent of the world’s malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Malaria is a leading cause of death of young children in Africa.
- Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease.
- Malaria causes an annual loss of $12 billion, or 1.3 percent, of Africa’s gross domestic product.
- Malaria accounts for approximately 40 percent of public health expenditures in Africa.
Who We Work With
