The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sherwin Charles, spoke to Channel Africa to highlight how warming temperatures and extreme weather are expanding the disease’s reach into previously low-risk areas.
Charles emphasised that despite global efforts, malaria still claims the life of a child every minute, a tragedy made more dire by the fact that it is both preventable and curable.
“Climate change is altering the landscape dramatically. Rising temperatures are making high-altitude regions, once malaria-free, susceptible to transmission,” he said.
He noted that flooding, becoming more frequent due to climate change, not only creates ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes but also disrupts access to healthcare in remote and rural communities.
“When roads are washed away, people can’t reach clinics, delaying diagnosis and treatment,” Charles explained.
The cost of inaction, Charles warned, is steep, both economically and in human lives. “Malaria can return rapidly, undoing a decade of progress in as little as two years if investments decline,” he said.
While innovative treatments and preventative tools are in development, including long-lasting formulations for pregnant women and children, and promising single-dose cures, deployment at scale remains a challenge due to cost.
Charles stressed the need for market-shaping strategies that encourage manufacturers to enter the market and drive down prices through increased demand.
He also called out the decline in donor funding post-COVID-19, particularly cuts to critical partners like the Global Fund and USAID’s President’s Malaria Initiative.
“Over 80% of malaria efforts in sub-Saharan Africa rely on donor funding. High-burden countries, many already economically strained, cannot shoulder the cost alone.”
In a rallying call, Charles urged African governments, philanthropists, and the private sector to step up. “We must reignite urgency and reinvest. The cost to treat and prevent malaria per person is not high. What we need is the political and financial will to act now.”
--ChannelAfrica--
