New initiatives to end malaria in ASEAN are launched at WEF ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi (Photo:VNA)Hanoi, (VNA) – Two new initiatives to accelerate the elimination ofmalaria and improve health outcomes in the ASEAN region were announced in Hanoion September 13 in the framework of the ongoing World Economic Forum on ASEAN2018.
The first initiative, BlendedFinance for Impact, is a partnership of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), theGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) to enable and increase long-term integrated financing forhealth, including malaria.
The second one, M2030, aims to bringtogether some of the most influential businesses in Asia to raise funds, engageconsumers as agents of change and sustain political support for malariaelimination.
“The fight against malaria is at acritical point. Nothing short of an all-hands-on-deck approach will suffice aswe work to eliminate malaria in the ASEAN region,” said Vanessa Candeias, Headof the Global Health and Healthcare System Initiative at the World EconomicForum. “Through our platform, the forum supports innovative public-privatecooperation required to realize this vision,” she noted.
Also at the event, the AsianDevelopment Bank announced a new Regional Health Fund in line with theobjectives of Blended Finance for Impact. The fund will address the increasingdemand from governments for new forms of health financing, particularlyfinancial modalities that blend grants and loans to address the most pressinghealth challenges in Asia Pacific.
“We are looking to raise up 150 million USD in grant funding, which will bemultiplied many times using other ADB resources,” said Stephen Groff,Vice-President for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific at the AsianDevelopment Bank.
The Regional Health Fund is ahallmark to the creative approaches the ADB is using to address the evolvingchallenges presented by malaria and other communicable diseases.
“Together with our partners, our aimis to create a new era of collaboration between health development partners,”Groff said. “This platform will help the transition from traditional grantfunding for health, while strengthening public-private partnerships andcountry-led health financing, including financial flows from national todistrict level,” he added.
M2030, launched by APLMA in April, is a platform for cause-based corporateengagement that takes a novel approach to eliminating malaria by 2030. Itunites international health organisations, consumers and prominent businessleaders to be malaria-elimination champions through partner platforms andmedia. M2030 marks the first time that influential Asian-led businesses willunite under the same brand to collaborate and champion the fight againstmalaria.
Current M2030 partners include Tahir Foundation, DT Families Foundation, DentsuAegis Network, Outdoor Channel Asia, Shopee, Yoma Strategic Holdings, WaveMoney, Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“Alongside our Yoma Group partnersWave Money and Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals, we are spearheading the M2030initiative in Myanmar. With the support of government and the private sector,we aim to create a better Myanmar for the 31 million people who, according tothe WHO, are still at risk of contracting the disease in our country,” saidSerge Pun, Chairman of Yoma Strategic Holdings.
The world is seeing unprecedented progress in the global effort to eliminatemalaria - arguably the deadliest disease in history.
Traditionally, ASEAN countries havebeen dependent on external financing for malaria programs. However, as theregion’s economy continues to grow, and malaria rates go down, external grantfinancing is likely to get more competitive.-VNA
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