Admiral Ziemer to Launch U.S. Malaria Initiative in Madagascar During Mother & Child Health Week

Rear Admiral (RET) R. Timothy Ziemer, Coordinator for President Bush’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) will return to Madagascar from October 21-26 as part of the Integrated Measles and Malaria Campaign and Mother & Child Health Week.

“We are proud to be partners with the Government of Madagascar on the President’s Malaria Initiative,” said Adm. Ziemer. “Improving maternal and child health is critical for economic and social development. The investments that the Government of Madagascar makes today to improve the health of mothers and children will result in a more productive population tomorrow.”

PMI is a historic $ 1.2 billion five-year initiative to control malaria in Africa. Madagascar is among the 15 sub-Saharan African countries that have been selected to halve the mortality rate due to malaria within five years by targeting 85% of vulnerable population with life saving interventions.

PMI is a collaborative US Government effort led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) , the Department of State, the White House, and other partners. PMI activities will begin in Madagascar following the campaign.

The objectives of this integrated campaign are to vaccinate all children 9-59 months with measles vaccines; administer vitamin A to all children 6-59 months; administer Mebendazole, a de-worming medicine, to all children aged 9-59 months; distribute insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to all children 0-59 months in 59 districts; and assure 100% safe injections. Vaccinations will occur at fixed and temporary sites (schools, markets…). Hard to reach areas will be visited by mobile teams. The Presidential Initiative gave over $1 million to join other partner’s support for this important campaign. Social mobilization activities will be carried out prior to and during the campaign by Ministry of Health, Family Planning and Social Protection, with support from USAID, UNICEF, and the Malagasy Red Cross Society.

In April, the U.S. Government, the American Red Cross, and Malaria No More announced a partnership to add mosquito nets and to provide community-based education for malaria prevention and proper use of nets to this campaign. The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and Malaria No More is filling essential gaps in the comprehensive campaign plan, which includes LLINs, logistics, and monitoring and evaluation. To ensure complete coverage of children, Malaria No More brought in private-sector partner Sumitomo Chemical, which has contributed 110,000 Olyset LLINs to the effort free of charge.