The introduction of new vector control technologies is critical to supporting insecticide resistance management (IRM) and progressing towards the elimination of malaria.  However, these new tools including 3^rd generation insecticides for indoor residual spraying (IRS) and dual-active ingredient mosquito nets are more expensive than existing tools and will be difficult to introduce without reducing coverage as malaria budgets have plateaued and are under further pressure due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this in mind IVCC is working on a range of market shaping interventions to increase affordability and expand coverage, including a “New Routes to Market” initiative.  IVCC is working with a handful of High Burden High Impact (HBHI) countries including DRC, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda to explore the potential of expanding coverage beyond the constraints of current donor funding through public private partnerships based on successful work done with mining companies, mission hospitals and NGOs under the Next Generation IRS project (NgenIRS). Although these new distribution networks will be initially set up to expand IRS coverage, they will ultimately be available for the distribution of other vector control tools based on the specific needs of partner countries.

Although in the early stages, countries have expressed great interest and have begun the process, with IVCC’s support, to identify and engage private sector funding and implementation partners.  To this end a private sector roundtable was organised by the Ghanaian National Malaria Program as part of the Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign. The roundtable brought together over 80 private companies to discuss the pressing need for their involvement in the fight against malaria. In Nigeria a similar roundtable hosted by GBCHealth’s Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa and the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) brought together over 155 participants including speakers from government, industry, academia and civil society to deliberate on ways to maximise impact on malaria vector control interventions in Nigeria. Other private sector roundtables will be planned in other partner countries in the coming months with the hope of identifying partners that can expand IRS coverage within the next year.

The IVCC Annual Report 2019-2020 has been published. The report showcases IVCC’s work to facilitate innovative approaches to preventing vector-borne diseases and tackle the growing threat of insecticide resistance. With activities across the globe and spanning research and development and market access, we are accelerating the process from innovation to impact. The report is a reminder of the importance of collaborative working and the progress laid out in it is testament, too, to the commitment of our partners from industry, academia, the public sector and advocacy. We are grateful for the support of all of our funders, who make life-saving vector control possible.

“ IVCC is showing its resilience, nimbleness and adaptability to keep a constant focus on its goals and how its people will work together to overcome and rise to this unprecedented challenge of our time.”

The Right Honourable Sir Stephen O’Brien KBE
Chair, Board of Trustees, IVCC

For more information or to request a physical copy please provide your full name and postal address to Chris Larkin on christopher.larkin@ivcc.com.

In a ground-breaking new short film, produced by RSA Films Amsterdam, for the campaign Malaria Must Die, So Millions Can Live, David Beckham appears as never been seen before – as an older man in his 70’s – sending a message of hope and optimism from a time in the future when we have eradicated one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases – malaria.

Against the backdrop of the on-going global disruption due to the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film aims to reignite the belief that humankind is capable of uniting to defeat diseases, and in doing so we can create a safer, healthier, stronger world for us all, and for future generations.

Developed by Ridley Scott Creative Group, Amsterdam, and Directed by John Filipe, the film opens with an older Beckham delivering an inspiring speech to a large, expectant crowd. As he continues to speak, a visual transformation takes place, and the older man changes back into David Beckham today, speaking as a father and directly to everyone watching, about how a future free of malaria in our lifetimes is entirely possible – but only if we keep up the fight.

David Beckham is a founding member of Malaria No More UK Leadership Council and a committed champion in the fight against malaria with over a decade of support for Malaria No More UK. In his long-term role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador he has seen the impact of malaria on people’s lives in countries such as Sierra Leone.

David Beckham said: “The fight against malaria is a cause close to my heart because the disease remains a huge killer of children and we have the opportunity to change that in our lifetime. I’ve worked with Malaria No More UK since 2009, supporting campaigns and helping shine a light on the challenge. Their campaigns always use great creativity and innovation to attract attention to the issue and I’m delighted also to have met some of the inspiring people who are working so hard to end this disease.”

To accompany the main film there is a behind-the-scenes montage film which features leading scientists, doctors, researchers, activists, and champions from key organisations who are all playing a critical part in helping to end malaria in a generation.

Ingrid Etoke, IVCC said: Growing up in Cameroon in West Africa, I always had the shadow of malaria hanging over me. I suffered from malaria many times and I lost my cousins to the disease. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe that in the not-too-distant future, we will beat this disease and young children dying from malaria will become an old and distant memory. This will mean more funds are freed up to invest in education, in infrastructure, in the economy, in healthcare in defeating other diseases and in doing so creating a world that is better prepared to take on future pandemics.”

Malaria has plagued humanity throughout history and ending it has, at times, felt like a distant dream. Progress to end the disease has stalled over recent years. Countries and leaders need to maintain funding, commit to greater access to existing tools and invest in new transformative tools to ensure that ending malaria is a high priority.

This global coalition campaign asks everyone to share the film far and wide on social media, and in doing so, demand that their leaders remain committed to delivering a safer, malaria-free world that we now know is possible.

Experts convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO) agree that malaria eradication is likely to save millions of lives and billions of dollars. In 2019 The Lancet Commission on malaria eradication – made up of leading scientists from around the world – found that if we focus efforts on strengthening leadership, increasing investment, prioritising research and innovation, including the development of new tools, and implementing smart, data driven programmes, ending malaria is possible within a generation. Decisions made now by global political leaders – backed by strong public support – will determine this trajectory.

Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, said: “Two decades of global commitment and action have shown the world that the global malaria community knows what it takes to drive unprecedented progress in the malaria fight, cutting deaths by more than 60 per cent and saving more than 7 million lives since 2000. But the world we live in has vastly changed since then, and the far-reaching impact of COVID-19 on malaria responses may not be known for some time.  

“The emergence of COVID-19 has shown the world how critical our health systems are. It is crucial that 2021 sees the world getting back on track towards achieving existing targets to reduce malaria as we come through the pandemic. By investing in ending malaria, we will not only save lives that would otherwise be lost to this deadly disease; we will also protect current health systems

 from the double burden of malaria and other diseases like COVID-19. Increased investment in malaria also helps to build the foundations of stronger health systems going forward which will protect communities from future health crises, giving children everywhere a better start in life and building a more secure world for all.”

Indeed, this year’s WHO World Malaria Report, shows that now is not the time to step away, with over 400,000 malaria deaths reported in 2019, predominantly among children under five across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report also reveals that COVID-19 poses a threat to malaria progress, but that existing investment and infrastructure to date – combined with a remarkable collective effort – has enabled countries to fight back. Most malaria prevention campaigns moved forward in 2020 without major delays – millions of mosquito nets will have been delivered by end of year, hundreds of thousands of houses have been sprayed with insecticide, and millions of children have been reached with preventative treatment.

However, even with the remarkable actions taken by countries, malaria cases and deaths may rise since history has shown that malaria will return with a vengeance when health systems are disrupted. The World Malaria Report shows that interruptions in diagnosis and treatment have ranged from between 5% to 50%, and the full impact of COVID-19 on malaria responses may not be known for some time.

The World Malaria Report, published annually, provides a comprehensive update on global and regional malaria data and trends. The report tracks investments in malaria programmes and research as well as progress across all intervention areas: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and surveillance. It also includes dedicated chapters on malaria elimination and on key threats in the fight against malaria. The report is based on information received from national malaria control programmes and other partners in endemic countries.

This year WHO is publishing a special edition of the World Malaria Report that highlights a period of unprecedented success in global malaria control. Beginning in the 1990s, the world laid the foundation for a renewed malaria response that contributed to 1.5 billion cases and 7.6 million deaths averted over the past two decades. Despite this remarkable progress, the global gains in combatting malaria have levelled off in recent years, and many high burden countries have been losing ground. In 2017, WHO warned that the fight against malaria had reached a crossroads. The “High Burden to High Impact” response, launched in 2018, aims to reignite progress.

Find out more in this years World Malaria Report.

IVCC, in partnership with Imperial College, London, is delighted to welcome Dr Ellie Sherrard-Smith as its first co-funded Research Fellow.  Working between Imperial’s Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology within the School of Public Health and Liverpool based IVCC, Ellie will provide IVCC with expert mathematical modelling advice on its product development programme and vector control projects.

Using the Imperial Malaria model, Ellie will identify modelling needs and interpreting new research related to the modelling of vector control products and guide IVCC activities to maximise impact.  Using modelling to explore statistically characterised novel tools, Ellie’s work will provide public health impact estimates and test the impact of novel interventions to optimise product Target product profiles (TPPs).

Prior to joining IVCC as a Research Fellow, Ellie was a Research Associate where she focused on the impact of combining malaria interventions such as drugs and vaccine, vector control and larval source management.

Ellie holds a BSc in Zoology and a PhD in Parasitology, both from Cardiff University.