Press Releases

No one should die from a mosquito bite. Yet almost half the world’s population is still at risk of contracting one of humanity’s oldest – and deadliest – diseases. While the United States eradicated malaria domestically by 1951, malaria still robs people in 87 countries and territories around the world of their health and their futures. In 2021, malaria infected 247 million people – and killed 619,000. Almost 80 percent of people who died were children under five years old. 

To mark World Malaria Day, the United States announced that the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) intends to form a partnership with The Gambia as part of its expansion efforts around the world. This will increase the number of PMI partner countries to 30, with 27 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and three in Southeast Asia.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is set to launch a 5-year, $7.9 million activity to support The Gambia as it takes steps to consolidate a democratic, rule of law-based, and accountable system of governance.

Today, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced that the United States has determined that the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya people.

I congratulate the Gambian people on their ongoing democratic progress, which has resulted in myself and the other members of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors unanimously approving a four-year, $25 million Threshold Program between MCC and the Government of The Gambia.