2 July 2022: Today marks the fifth anniversary of Zero Malaria Starts with Me. A movement designed to mobilize and empower communities to take ownership over the fight to end malaria, driving action at all levels of society including among political, private sector and community leaders to accelerate malaria prevention and treatment and save lives.
Since the campaign was endorsed by African Union (AU) leaders in July 2018 in support of the AU goal to end malaria by 2030, 27 countries have adopted the movement launching national campaigns to accelerate the fight to end malaria. The Member States which have joined the movement to date include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Co-led by the African Union and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the movement is mobilizing country governments and communities affected by the disease to continue to demonstrate leadership, adopt innovative and sustainable approaches and scale up national malaria programmes to target and deliver lifesaving tools to those who need them most.
Over the past five years, the movement has also inspired several initiatives and campaigns including:
- Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative: Since 2020, 5 countries have also introduced the Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative. Led by the Ecobank Group in partnership with Speak Up Africa, the initiative was established to foster domestic resource mobilization and drive private-sector engagement for the fight against malaria in Africa.
- Draw the Line Against Malaria: The campaign brought together a team of global changemakers and African stars including David Beckham, Eliud Kipchoge, Sherrie Silver and Láolú Senbanjo to mobilize young people across the African continent. Through the campaign, African youth called on their leaders to take action to end malaria within a generation ahead of the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), declaring “Malaria: we’re too strong for you!”.
- End Malaria Councils: End Malaria Councils and Funds convene senior leaders from across sectors to support the national malaria strategic plan and mobilize new sources of funding. Six End Malaria Councils have been launched to date, with another 18 in the pipeline. In 2022, the Republics of Guinea, Nigeria, and Rwanda announced or launched high-level End Malaria Councils and over US$28 million has been mobilized to date.
- Zero Malaria F.C: Football legends Luís Figo and Khalilou Fadiga are teaming up with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria to announce an exciting new initiative this year: the Zero Malaria F.C.
The new initiative – part of the wider Zero Malaria Starts with Me movement – will bring together a team of globally renowned footballers to increase malaria awareness, urge greater action against this deadly disease, and work with the RBM Partnership to advocate for the malaria response.
This year, on July 8 in Dakar, the African Union Commission, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, in partnership with Speak Up Africa and the National Malaria Control Program of Senegal, will co-host a high-level ceremony to mark the 5th anniversary of Zero Malaria Starts with Me. By holding the event in Senegal, the organizations will honor the roots of the campaign, launched in 2014, while also celebrating Senegal's extensive network of partners who have made significant contributions to this pan-African movement. The ceremony will also highlight the important role of the youth in the fight against malaria.
Dr. Michael Adekunle Charles, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, said: “The Zero Malaria Starts with Me movement has grown rapidly since 2018, with 27 countries now actively involved and driving real change in the fight against malaria. Today we celebrate five years of incredible progress, driven by valuable work happening across the RBM partnership and beyond. But we must also look forward and continue our efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030. We call on countries from across the African Union to join us and be part of the solution to end the disease.”
To find out more information about Zero Malaria Starts with Me and to access the toolkit, please visit https://zeromalaria.africa/
