HHS Secretary Leavitt Participates in Gates Foundation Malaria Forum

(October 17, 2007) Panel on Collaboration and Implementation Today at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Forum. Left to right: the Minister of Health of Mozambique, the Honorable Paulo Ivo Garrido, M.D.; the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, M.D.; HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt; the Vice President of the Human Development Network at the World Bank, the Honorable Joy Phumaphi; and the Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the Honorable Awa Marie Coll-Seck, M.D., Ph.D. (Photo by Kent Forde, HHS)

October 25, 2007 – Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt participated in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Malaria Forum last week. The Forum brought together the world’s top researchers, policy-makers, and implementers of malaria-control programs and malaria-related research. Secretary Leavitt participated in a panel discussion entitled, "Collaboration and Implementation Today," which focused on policies and practices that would, when applied to current commitments, tools and programs, increase the effectiveness of the overall malaria prevention, treatment and control effort, and save more lives.

Also on the panel was the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, M.D.; the Minister of Health of Mozambique, the Honorable Paulo Ivo Garrido, M.D.; the Vice President of the Human Development Network at the World Bank and former Minister of Health of Botswana, the Honorable Joy Phumaphi; and the Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and former Minister of Health of Senegal, the Honorable Awa Marie Coll-Seck, M.D., Ph.D.

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is the world’s leading malaria-control program, and has already made historic gains against the disease, which kills over one million people every year – mostly African children. Malaria is completely preventable, and easily treatable with cost-effective and proven interventions. The PMI has energized the global effort to combat malaria, and has provided critical leadership and funding in fifteen focus countries in Africa. The PMI works collaboratively with other donors, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund, the World Bank, and others in helping the host countries build effective and sustainable national malaria-control programs.

For more information:

• Fighting to End Malaria Forum (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) 
• President’s Malaria Initiative (Fightingmalaria.gov)
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Forum Webcasts (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Last revised: October 30, 2007