In 2006 the Millennium Villages Project was set up to make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa – one of which included the fight against malaria. Along with efforts from across the global community the WHO reported that the pace of decrease in malaria mortality rates accelerated from 2005. Overall between 2000 and 2012 estimated malaria mortality rates fallen 49 per cent in the African region, but there were still an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2012 of which 90 per cent occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sumitomo Chemical Is Key Partner on Malaria Project
Sumitomo Chemical’s engagement with the Millennium Villages began in 2005, when it donated over 330,000 Olyset anti-malaria bed nets. An additional 400,000 nets were donated in 2010 and a new donation of 330,000 nets will be distributed in 2014 to take the total well over one million. “Our goal in the Millennium Villages Project is to drive malaria deaths down to near zero as of 2015. Sumitomo Chemical’s new contribution, with all of the energy that it will spur, puts us on the road towards this achievement,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and co-founder of the Millennium Villages Project.
Vector Control Essential for Health and Economy
Malaria prevents adults from working and children from going to school, locking families and communities into poverty. Poverty hampers treatment and prevention, which leads to further spread of the disease. Economists estimate that malaria costs Africa more than 12 billion dollars in lost GDP each year. In addition to the health benefits, malaria control can provide economic benefits in its own right, for example, Olyset Net manufacturing operations in Africa provide stable jobs and economic growth.
The Fight Continues
Despite real progress, an estimated 3.3 billion people continue to be at risk of malaria, so the fight against it continues. As we approach the MDG milestone year of 2015, Sumitomo Chemical remains deeply committed to providing innovative vector control products to fight malaria, and to showing that the attainment of global malaria goals is possible.
“Sumitomo Chemical remains deeply committed to providing innovative vector control products to fight malaria”