PR38/06
January 25, 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH’S MALARIA INITIATIVE LAUNCHES IN KITGUM

State Minister for Primary Health, Honorable Alex Kamugisha, USAID Director Margot Ellis and many other local and national dignitaries will launch U.S. President Bush’s Malaria Initiative in Kitgum, Uganda on January 25 at Labuje internally displaced person’s camp (IDP).  The launch event will include the handover of the first 100 insecticide treated nets to camp residents as well as a ceremony recognizing this new, coordinated effort to fight malaria in Uganda.
 
The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) of the U.S. government is a five-year,
$1.2 billion initiative to scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions in highly-affected countries.  The goal of this initiative in three countries—Tanzania, Angola and Uganda—is to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50% after three years of implementation by reaching 85% of the most vulnerable groups – children under five years of age, pregnant women, and people living with HIV/AIDS.  The 2006 PMI budget for Uganda is $9.5 million.  Of this amount, 49% will support the procurement and distribution of nets and other commodities.

In Uganda, the President’s Malaria Initiative will emphasize the distribution of nets in internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda, where vulnerability to malaria is very high.  Interventions will include distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets; indoor residual spraying; intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women; and provision of malarial treatment.  During the first year of the PMI, more than 300,000 nets will be distributed in the IDP camps.  In other parts of Uganda, the PMI will work to re-treat existing nets.

PMI’s foundation is partnerships: between U.S. Government agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); with global organizations such as Global Fund, WHO and Roll Back Malaria; with the private sector such as the Gates Foundation, Marathon Oil, and Exxon Mobil; and with African governments, academic institutions, community and faith-based organizations. 

In Uganda, the PMI strategic development and planning were collaboratively conducted by the U.S. Government, the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in Uganda, in order to ensure that the PMI complements the National Strategy and the work of other donors.   With this launch the U.S. Government demonstrates its commitment to address this priority health concern for the people of Uganda.