Vestergaard, Goodbye Malaria Partner with Mozambique to Celebrate World Malaria Day

Vestergaard, the makers of PermaNet ® mosquito nets, and Goodbye Malaria, an African-led initiative to eradicate malaria in Southern Africa, have joined forces with the Mozambican Ministry of Health to commemorate World Malaria Day 2022 on April 25, 2022.

A plenary session will be held at Polana Serena in Maputo by the partners.

The event provides a platform to renew the power of partnerships in the malaria fight, as well as an opportunity to engage with the Mozambican private sector to commit to keeping malaria at the top of the national agenda.

Vestergaard and Goodbye Malaria work together to support the Mozambican government's efforts to Advance Equity, as well as the RBM Partnership to End Malaria's ambition. Create Resilience. Malaria must be eradicated.

They intend to work together to provide a platform for private sector engagement and support of the national malaria strategy, as well as to find solutions to the urgent need for renewed action to eradicate malaria in Mozambique.

Patrick Sieyes, Head of Global Growth at Vestergaard said: “World Malaria Day is a great time to recognise the progress made in the daily fight against malaria as well as a time to identify gaps and set new goals. As a major private sector partner in the malaria community, we are professionally dedicated to the fight to end malaria with new innovations and effective, long-lasting solutions. We support the Global Fund’s replenishment goals to raise $18 billion to save 20 million lives.

We believe that the private sector can contribute to more equitable access to malaria commodities and to a more resilient supply chain through long-term strategic supply collaborations with key institutions and country malaria programs. We call for a partnership approach to planning, procurement and distribution of malaria commodities, one which leverages the private sector’s full set of capabilities.”

Sherwin Charles, Co-Founder and CEO, Goodbye Malaria said; “We have made considerable progress towards malaria elimination through innovative partnership and cross-border collaboration between governments of Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini, The Global Fund and the private sector. These public-private partnerships allow for the acceleration of interventions and innovations including targeted delivery of new malaria interventions, improved supply chains, and stronger surveillance and lab capacity, as well as targeted scale-up of existing and new tools, such as the new malaria vaccine (RTS,S). We are confident that we can end the scourge of malaria and free valuable resources to be deployed to other public health issues. As malaria knows no borders, the only way to combat this disease is together.”

Malaria is an endemic disease in Mozambique.

Mozambique is one of six countries that account for more than half of all malaria cases and deaths worldwide, according to the World Malaria Report 2021. (4 percent of global cases and deaths).

In addition, the country has the second-highest malaria prevalence in Eastern and Southern Africa (17.2 per cent).

“Mozambique should be applauded for the significant progress made in preventing malaria in the past decade,” says Patrick Sieyes. “This deployment of life-saving interventions such as bed nets and preventive treatment for pregnant women has contributed to a 28% reduction in reported malaria hospital admissions in the past five years.”

“In addition, with the country being supportive of private sector-led partnerships and forums, we will continue to spearhead collaborative efforts bringing together Mozambican leaders at all levels to establish an inclusive decision-making process to ensure national ownership of bed nets.” continues Patrick Sieyes.

World Malaria Day 2022 has provided an opportunity for Mozambique to reflect on and renew its efforts in the fight against malaria, as well as to engage with the Mozambican private sector to commit to ongoing investment to eradicate malaria in accordance with the national malaria control program strategic plan.