Pioneering global pharmaceutical giant Novartis has convened malaria experts and leaders from over 35 African countries at a workshop in Maputo, Mozambique to explore innovative strategies that are capable of moving medical responses from control, to the elimination of the deadly disease. The three-day meeting, which is being held as part of the 14th National Malaria Control Programme, follows more than a decade of global progress in which malaria mortality rates have dropped by an estimated 47 percent.
“Novartis is proud to provide this unique platform,” said Dr. Linus Igwemezie, Head of the Novartis Malaria Initiative. “These meetings have been designed for National Malaria Control Programme members to develop new ideas and strategies to achieve elimination of this deadly disease.”
An estimated 3.4 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – are still at risk of contracting malaria according to the World Health Organisation, with 97 countries reporting ongoing transmission in 2013. In pursuit of the elimination of the disease, the Novartis Malaria Initiative has delivered more than 700 million treatments of Coartem®, which has become a standard of care for malaria. This includes 250 million Coartem® Dispersible antimalarials, the first fixed-dose paediatric treatment for malaria, distributed without profit to malaria-endemic countries.
However, while the Novartis Group’s other business interests have helped it to achieve net sales of figures of US$58 billion, delegates at the workshop will also be seeking to address a number of emerging challenges, including inadequate funding, the early signs of drug resistance, and the advance of other diseases like Ebola.
Advances in technology made to date and how these tools can be implemented and improved to achieve a new World Health Organisation objective of a 90 percent reduction in malaria cases and mortality rates by 2030, is also expected to feature highly on the agenda. This target was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2015, following national and regional consultations among affected countries, as the World Health Organisation sought ratification of its “Global Technical Strategy and Targets for Malaria 2016 – 2030”.
Since the first National Malaria Control Programme workshop was held in 2006, the workshop has provided an opportunity to share experiences in managing malaria. Several ground-breaking projects are also said to have emerged from the meetings, including the development of Coartem® Dispersible, the first ACT specifically tailored to infants and children.