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UNDP: 81 million additional funding announced by the Global Fund to UNDP to fight malaria in Sudan

UNDP: 81 million additional funding announced by the Global Fund to UNDP to fight malaria in Sudan

24th April 2015

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A new agreement reached in Sudan by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is set to provide a major boost in the fight against malaria in the country.

There is a high burden of malaria-related morbidity and mortality in Sudan and the disease is a public health priority. Endemic in most parts of the country, malaria yearly turns into epidemic in 6 States out of 18 following heavy rains or floods from River Nile. There are currently 34 million people at risk of malaria across the country. Malaria accounts for 8.7% of all health facility visits, 11% of all hospital admissions and is a leading cause of illness and death in children under five years in Sudan.

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However, the national malaria control programme with Global Fund, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO and others partners  support, has reduced the number of malaria cases from more than seven  million in 2000 to 2.8 million in 2014. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of deaths due to malaria was reduced by 46%.

“We collaborate with UNDP since 2005 and thanks to the Global Fund grant our medical team can treat more than 2.8 million people a year who present malaria symptoms. This is an enormous gain for the country, not only because we have managed to save many lives but also as people can continue to pursue healthy and productive lives, which also reduces the burden on the overall social and economic development of the country” noted NMCP manager  from the Federal Ministry of Health.

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Since 2005, UNDP is actively working in Sudan with the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to reduce transmission and morbidity and to strengthen the national health system.

As part of a large prevention programme, UNDP in collaboration with country partners has been encouraging families to sleep under long-lasting insecticidal nets in risk areas and has distributed by  2014 more than 13 million bed nets to provide protection to  26 million people covering about 78% of the territory. The plan is to reach universal coverage by 2016. The programme specifically addressed pregnant women and children under 5 and hard-to-reach populations as well as population at risk. The bed nets are treated with insecticides, unlike ordinary bed nets that is available in the local market, and give better protection from mosquito bites and other insects like sand flies, providing prevention from malaria, leishmaniasis and filaria.

Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Health, UNDP provided access to diagnostic and treatment to more than 2.8 million people in 2014. In rural areas where access to curative and diagnostic services is limited, UNDP is strengthening the capacity of more than 3000 dispensaries with free Rapid Diagnostic Test and has trained more than 450 community volunteers since 2007 in malaria home-based management to diagnose quickly the disease so that treatment can be given within 24-hours of the onset of symptoms.

The announcement will see US$ 81 million added to the Global Fund’s existing malaria grant in Sudan. The objective of this grant is to support throughout 2018 Sudan’s National Malaria Strategy to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by 25% from the baseline of 2013, treat more than 6 million people and pursue bed net and spray and laboratory material distribution.

“The key interventions to prevent malaria (bed nets, insecticide spraying, and access to treatments) are well known and have achieved significant results in Sudan. The next step is to strengthen the national response capacity to transfer progressively the Global Fund management and this grant will contribute to this responsibility shift” said Sherry Joseph, UNDP Programme Manager in Khartoum.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2013 there were worldwide about 198 million malaria cases and an estimated 584 000 malaria deaths. Increased prevention and control measures have led to a reduction in malaria mortality rates by 47% globally since 2000.

 

Issued by UNDP

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