Africa

IN 30 SECONDS: There is no doubt that bed nets, insecticides, medicines and diagnostics will deliver significant successes against malaria in the short-term. But as major international partners continue prioritizing the commodity-based approach, African governments should be building the necessary resilience in affected communities. Countries should ensure safe houses and physical environments so that exposure to mosquito bites is minimized, strengthen health systems to identify and treat new malaria cases, expand access to health education in schools and households, and improve household economies and food security so that competing priorities are addressed. This needs to be a long-term strategy, paid for by domestic funding, subsidies, tax rebates or other innovative financing mechanisms – for example a ten-dollar malaria levy paid by international travelers visiting endemic countries. This way, the affected countries can better avoid malaria deaths and sickness, or rebounds of transmission, which currently place such a strain on national health outcomes and development.