USAID Announces First Malaria Communities Program Grants
REVISED
October 5, 2007
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the first five organizations to receive grants under the Malaria Communities Program (MCP). These organizations will receive a total of nearly $7 million to help extend the coverage of malaria prevention and control activities in communities most affected by malaria, with specific attention on children under age five and women who are pregnant. The organizations receiving grants are Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Lutheran World Relief, Episcopal Relief and Development, Minnesota International Health Volunteers, and Christian Social Services Commission.
"We want to strengthen the ability of faith-based and community organizations to fight malaria, while also building local ownership," added Adm. R. Tim Ziemer, U.S. Malaria Coordinator. "Groups with local connections that have worked to build trust and provide hope are key partners in the effort to combat malaria at the local level."
The MCP is a $30 million initiative created under the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) to support the efforts of communities and indigenous organizations to combat malaria in Africa. First Lady Laura Bush first announced the MCP at a White House Summit on Malaria in December 2006. The program specifically aims to identify organizations that are new to partnering with the U.S. Government and are uniquely positioned to work at the community level. The program also seeks to increase local and indigenous capacities to undertake community-based malaria prevention and treatment activities and to build local ownership of malaria control for the long term. MCP grant recipients will operate within respective PMI country strategies, which have been developed in collaboration with each country's Ministry of Health and National Malaria Control Program, with in-country partners, and with other donor organizations working in-country.
"The Malaria Communities Program draws on the power of faith-based and community partners serving on the frontlines to prevent and combat the disease," said Jay Hein, Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. "Engaging these groups that have local connections and have built trust greatly heightens our prospects for long-term success."
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.