25th April is World Malaria Day

Every 30 seconds, a child dies from malaria. 300 million people are affected by the disease every year. The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development supports and develops innovative approaches to improving access to malaria treatment for people in developing countries.

About one million people worldwide die every year from malaria. Particularly vulnerable are children under 5 years of age and pregnant women. The most-affected region is sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 90% of malaria-related deaths. Malaria not only affects the health of people, it also represents an enormous social and economic burden for households and governments in developing countries: People cannot work or go to school when they fall ill with malaria; and the disease consumes substantial resources of a country’s health system.

The worldwide provision at cost of Coartem by Novartis, as well as the recent development of a pediatric formulation of the drug have made available quality treatment against malaria in the developing world.

Mere availability of an effective treatment is, however, not enough: Long distances to healthcare facilities, financing problems, wrong diagnosis and dosages still pose obstacles in the fight against malaria. Through its ACCESS Project, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development aims at overcoming these obstacles and improving access to malaria treatment in a comprehensive way. We thereby look both at the supply and the demand sides of treatment.

Measures on the supply side include, for example, training and supportive supervision of health personnel and the establishment of new drug stores. On the demand side, social marketing campaigns inform people about the disease and encourage patients to request timely treatment. In addition, income-generating measures and health insurance schemes facilitate financing of healthcare services in case of illness. The ACCESS Project is implemented and financed together with the Ifakara Health Institute and the Swiss Tropical Institute.

Joining forces in the fight against malaria

Klaus M. Leisinger, President and Managing Director of the Novartis Foundation is member of the Malaria Elimination Group (MEG), which elaborates scientific, economic, and technical aspects of Malaria convening 45 international experts.

The Novartis Foundation is also a member of the Swiss Malaria Group (SMG) consisting of various Swiss-based players from the public and private sectors, as well as from civil society.

Other Novartis Foundation projects related to malaria

Millennium Villages Project
The Novartis Foundation donates Coartem to all Millennium Villages.

Access Initiative in Mali
Malaria treatment and prevention play an important role in this foundation initiative aiming at improving access to basic healthcare services in rural Mali.

ICATT
The computer-based learning program for integrated management of childhood diseases (ICATT), developed by the foundation and WHO, includes diagnosis and treatment of malaria.