African leaders must invest in malaria prevention

Jul 25 2011

In a Daily Caller opinion piece, Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, highlights a finding in a recent malaria report that the U.S. government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "were responsible for 85% of the steep increase in malaria funding between 2007 and 2009." But "[i]f 30 African heads of state were to give up their private jets, a fund of well over $500 million could be generated," Tren writes.

"Several benefits would arise were African leaders to put their money where their mouths are. First, it would help U.S. congressmen to convince the remarkably generous but hard-hit U.S. taxpayers that we have true partners in the fight against malaria and that it is worth appropriating money for this noble cause. Second, it would probably help to reduce the bias in R&D funding, directing money to areas, such as improved vector control, that are recognized as more important for African countries. Third, it would help in creating a much-needed culture of accountability and responsiveness in African politics," according to Tren (7/22).