Olivia Ngou
Executive Director, Impact Santé Afrique & Global Coordinator, CS4ME
Firm in the belief that empowered community and civil society are game-changers in health responses, we (representatives of national, regional and global malaria communities and civil society attending the First Malaria World Congress) have come together and formed the Global Civil Society for Malaria Elimination (CS4ME). Our commitment is for joint advocacy for more effective, sustainable, people-centred, rights-based, equitable, and inclusive malaria programmes and interventions.
At a time when the world has the resources and tools to prevent and treat malaria, it is unconscionable how people – mainly from vulnerable and underserved communities – continue to die from the disease. While we commend the efforts that have brought the world closer to malaria elimination, we call for greater accountability, political will and action, resource investments, and greater sense of urgency to eliminate the disease.
CS4ME currently brings together 219 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from 43 countries in Africa and South Asia. The organisation calls for malaria programs to be more effective, sustainable, equitable, innovative, inclusive of civil society, community-centred, human rights and gender-based and adequately funded.
We ask decision makers, including local governments, private sector, bilateral and multilateral donors, and international institutions, to involve representatives of communities and civil society actors affected by malaria at the decision-making level: nothing for us without us.
Collective actions for greater impact: 2019
Last October, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria conference was held in Lyon, France, with the objective of raising $14 billions dollars to save 16 million lives over the next three years. In order to achieve the goals set, CSOs carried out advocacy campaigns. CS4ME engaged malaria CSOs to conduct advocacy with African leaders, donor country representatives and High Commissioners to urge contributions and increase domestic resources for health. Civil societ,y through coordinated actions in more than 15 countries in Francophone Africa, has :
- Submitted advocacy letters signed by 101 CSOs ;
- Drafted a declaration on the sidelines of the 33rd African Union Summit in Niamey (Niger);
- Held press conferences in several countries for African Heads of State ;
- Produced videos presenting CS4ME
As a result of the successful advocacy, an historical number of 24 African countries contributed to the Global Fund’s replenishment, something that has never been achieved before!
Malaria and COVID-19
On the eve of the 13th celebration of World Malaria Day, with the theme “Zero Malaria Starts With Me”, CS4ME published a declaration to call on political leaders. This will focus on the imperative need to increase domestic resources, to counter pandemics such as malaria and COVID-19. To fight against this pandemic, CS4ME and Impact Santé Afrique are engaged in campaigns to encourage communities to adopt preventative behaviors against COVID-19 and malaria, including:
- Media tours in partnership with the Ministry of Health ;
- The production of communication supports ;
- Advocacy for the protection of health workers in the field ;
- Webinars in French and English with experts such as WHO and RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
- Reminder that malaria will strike harder in periods of pandemics like this and we must continue to ensure malaria prevention and rapid test and treatment!