ELIUD KIPCHOGE AND FAITH KIPYEGON JOIN GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO TURN UP PRESSURE ON WORLD LEADERS AS MALARIA DEATHS REACH HIGHEST NUMBER IN NEARLY A DECADE

25 May 2022, Nairobi: Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon join a stellar cast of international changemakers to turn up the pressure in the fight against malaria today, launching the second chapter of the multi-award-winning Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign.    

Backed by the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the youth-focused Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign is part of the Zero Malaria Starts With Me (ZMSWM) movement which was launched in Kenya on 31^st October 2020 by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Malaria Youth Army, also launched by H.E. President Kenyatta in July 2021, has utilized the campaign to demand scaled up action in their communities, and countries across the world, to end malaria.  

Speaking during the 7^th Global Fund Replenishment preparatory meeting, His Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya and Chairperson of the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) said, “I call upon all governments and indeed all stakeholders including the private sector to join us in enhancing the pledges made during the 7^th replenishment cycle that we anticipate in the later part of this year. I do believe none of us will regret in investing in this worthy venture and why do I say so, because a healthy population means higher productivity.”  

Kenya has made enormous strides in the fight against malaria thanks to a concerted national effort by the Government, partners and communities, shrinking the malaria map and further reducing deaths by 2 per cent and saving millions of lives. 

In April 2022, the Zero Malaria Campaign Coalition (ZMCC) was launched by the Ministry of Health through the Division of the National Malaria Program together with diverse actors to coordinate and elevate advocacy efforts and communications initiatives to increase political will and investment towards a malaria-free Kenya.  

The Zero Malaria Campaign Coalition seeks to support the ZMSWM movement, foster multisectoral partnerships to amplify the work of the malaria community, increase awareness of the negative impact of malaria within society, and drive forward the goal of a zero-malaria country wide. 

Kenya’s very own Olympic Gold-medalist and marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge, together with 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic running champion Faith Kipyegon have both joined the global campaign in an effort to end the world’s oldest and deadliest disease within a generation. The campaign seeks to turn pressure on world leaders as malaria deaths reach the highest number in nearly a decade. 

“In the past, suffering from malaria has stopped me from running. Today, over 1000 children in Africa will die from the disease. Malaria is stealing their futures. But this is a human problem that we can solve because despite the challenges no human is limited.  We are calling on leaders to recommit to ending malaria at the Kigali Summit and later this year at the Global Fund Replenishment conference by contributing at least $18bn to achieve zero malaria within a generation,” says Eliud Kipchoge, Zero Malaria Ambassador and member of the MNM UK Leadership Council. 

The two, together with a stellar cast of young people, activists, scientists, and stars including malaria champion David Beckham, FC Barcelona striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Nigerian Afropop singer, songwriter & actress Yemi Alade, and South African television presenter Bonang Matheba, all join this global movement. 

The artists have fronted this year’s campaign film that will showcase at the Paramount/MTV Africa Day Concert on 28^th May 2022. The campaign film has been directed by Grammy- winning Meji Alabi, a London-born Nigerian filmmaker. 

“I’m proud to join this incredible campaign because I want to see an end to malaria, a disease of deep injustice particularly as it affects the world’s poorest people, especially for women and girls. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was so careful to protect myself including making sure I slept under a mosquito net because one in three expectant mothers suffer from malaria in sub–Saharan Africa. Now my daughter is three, she is the light of my life! My mission is to keep her safe.  We sleep under a mosquito net and we see great tools now becoming available like celebrating the world’s first malaria vaccine trialed in Kenya. This gives me great hope – I want my daughter to grow up and see the day when we have zero malaria in Kenya,” comments Faith Kipyegon – Zero Malaria Ambassador. 

In a world still reeling from the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with global health security and pandemic preparedness remaining at the top of world leaders’ agendas, this next chapter of the campaign aims to turn up the pressure on world leaders to commit to ending malaria at the Kigali Summit on Malaria & NTDs in June and investing funds totaling US$18 billion at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in New York this Autumn.  

“The World Health Organization welcomes a new host of scientists, youth, and champions to join the malaria fight at a crucial time when progress against the disease is lagging. Draw The Line provides a platform for Africa’s most powerful narrators to change this trajectory, disrupt political apathy, and lead the fight to end this treatable and preventable disease which kills a child nearly every minute,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. 

Accounting for over half of global funding to end malaria, a fully replenished Global Fund is projected to enable countries and partners to reduce malaria deaths by 62%, treat 550 million malaria cases, and eliminate malaria from six more countries by 2026, as well as unlock the potential of a Zero Malaria world, helping to strengthen equitable health systems and improve the lives and futures of millions of people. 

“In addition to the innovation of new tools, we must invest in the country’s health systems and programmes needed to ensure these tools and resources target the right people and right places, at the right time. The Global Fund plays a critical role in delivering life-saving malaria services where they are needed most. This year, it is vital that we see a fully replenished Global Fund to get back on track and accelerate the malaria response to end this disease and strengthen health systems, creating a safer, healthier and more equal world for all”, added Dr Corine Karema, Interim CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria. 

About the Zero Malaria Starts with Me movement and Draw The Line campaign: 

• Zero Malaria Starts with Me originated in Senegal in 2014 as a nationwide citizen campaign. In July 2018, the campaign was endorsed by African Union leaders at their 31st Summit in July 2018 in support of the AU goal to end malaria by 2030, expanding it to a pan-African movement. Co-led by the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and the African Union Commission, the campaign engages political leaders at all levels, mobilizing resources and funding, and empowering communities to take ownership of malaria efforts and hold leaders accountable in the fight against malaria. 
• The campaign has helped launch President Kenyatta’s Malaria Youth Army, who have gone on to demand scaled up action in their communities, and countries across the world, to end malaria. 
• The next few years are critical to reach the global goal to reduce deaths by 90% by 2030. In 2021 we inspired a new generation to join the Zero Malaria Starts With Me movement with the fresh new Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign, creating a unifying, ground-breaking and inspiring global platform to capture youth and public imagination, and rally communities and leaders. The campaign generated mass awareness and high visibility for the Zero Malaria Starts with Me movement across malaria-affected countries and beyond.  
• At the Africa Day Concert 2022 in Johannesburg, the second phase of Draw the Line Against Malaria will launch, with the aim to encourage world leaders to attend the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs on the eve of the Commonwealth heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, and, most importantly, contribute to the 7^th Global Fund Replenishment Summit in New York. 

SPOTLIGHT ON MALARIA 

Key Malaria Statistics: 

• Malaria is a preventable, treatable and curable disease  
• Countries and global partners are working towards the global goal to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 90% by 2030  
• 627,000 lives were lost to malaria in 2020  
• Most lives lost are young children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa  
• Nearly every minute a child dies from malaria  
• Between 2019 and 2020 malaria deaths rose by 12% in Africa, in part due to COVID-19  
• One in three pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by malaria  
• Malaria costs the African economy $117 billion in lost productivity every year  
• 1.7 billion cases have been prevented and 10.6 million lives saved from malaria since 2000  
• Malaria is a big cause of school absenteeism. Ending malaria by 2040 would win back 1.5 billion school days for children across Africa  
  
•  Looking Towards a Malaria-Free Future: 

• In April 2018 53 Heads of Government committed to halve malaria in the Commonwealth by 2023. 
  
  Governments, science, and the private sector added their support pledging $4.1 billion to accelerate research and development of new tools for the malaria fight and expand access to life-saving tools. 
• Experts convened by the WHO agree that malaria eradication is likely to save millions of lives and billions of dollars.  
• In 2019 The Lancet Commission on malaria eradication – made up of leading scientists from around the world – found that if we focus efforts on strengthening leadership, increasing investment, prioritising research and innovation, including the development of new tools, and implementing smart, data driven programmes, ending malaria is possible within a generation. Decisions made now by global political leaders – backed by strong public support – will determine this trajectory. 
• Already, more countries than ever are within reach of elimination. Most recently, China (2021), El Salvador (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018) and Uzbekistan (2018) reached zero malaria, but every country should be able to reap the benefits of Zero Malaria. We must act now to create a fairer future that leaves no one behind.  
• World Malaria Report 2021 
• Commonwealth Malaria Report 2022