Global Fund applauds Malawi efforts against malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS

LILONGWE, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Global Fund has applauded Malawi for being resilient in the wake of climatic disasters and disease outbreaks in the past few years, and for the gains that the country has made in fighting malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB).

Roslyn Morauta, the chair of the Global Fund Board, noted the success Tuesday at the opening of the organization's 52nd board meeting hosted by Malawi, in Lilongwe, the Malawian capital, under the theme "Stop at Nothing: Uniting to Build a Healthier, Safer, Equitable Future."

Malawi has shown "unwavering determination and remarkable success" in fighting infectious diseases and building resilient health and community systems, despite the onslaught of climate change, she said.

Morauta said the southern African country stopped at nothing to fight back when tropical cyclones Ana and Gombe, and Freddy hit parts of the country in 2022 and 2023, respectively, damaging dozens of health facilities and spiking malaria cases.

Malawi managed to build resilient health systems, investing in strong laboratory surveillance and developing robust electronic medical record systems in the aftermath of the climatic disasters, she said.

The success that Malawi has registered testifies to the benefits of prioritizing health investments, resulting from the "strong leadership and the tireless work of the civil society and effective communities," Morauta said.

"Malawi has made remarkable progress in controlling the HIV, TB and malaria epidemic in recent years, contributing to the improvement of overall life expectancy at birth from 44.7 years in 2000 to 62.5 years in 2021," she said. "That is, really, worth celebrating."

Jean Kaseya, the director general for the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, echoed Morauta's praises for Malawi and commended President Lazarus Chakwera for his leading role in successfully fighting the cholera outbreak in 2023.

"I am here to celebrate the successful leadership that you are bringing to this continent," Kaseya told the Malawian leader who presided over the opening of the board meeting.

"When Chakwera launched the 'End Cholera' campaign, he took the lead not only in Malawi; not only in southern Africa; but in all the African continent, and the lesson from Malawi led the response in so many African countries," Kaseya added.

In his keynote address, Chakwera said Malawi would not have achieved what it has without the support of the Global Fund, a private-public partnership. He said that with support from the Global Fund, his government has managed to expand access to health facilities by constructing new health posts, infectious disease wards, and renovations across the country.

The Global Fund has been Malawi's partner since 2003, with cumulative investments of over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars to date, according to Morauta.

The two-day Global Fund board meeting, which ends Wednesday, has drawn over 300 delegates, including health ministers and representatives of the United Nations and other international organizations from across the globe.