Hillary Clinton Statement On World Malaria Day

Today, on the first-ever World Malaria Day, we are reminded of the global tragedy that every thirty seconds a child in Africa dies of malaria. We have the tools to stop these deaths, and to protect and treat children and their families across the world who go to bed every night fearing that they are one mosquito bite away from despair and devastation.

That is why in November, 2007, I unveiled an ambitious plan to combat malaria and the poverty that results from debilitating and deadly infectious diseases. My plan includes $1 billion per year to address malaria infection in Africa, with the goal of stamping out malaria deaths in Africa altogether by the end of my second term. I was pleased to see that this commitment was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives last month when it approved a five-year, $1 billion a year, investment in malaria for the first time ever as part of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has also included $5 billion over 5 years for malaria in their version of the reauthorization, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help bring the resources to bear upon this epidemic.

We need a comprehensive assault on malaria, which needlessly kills more than 1 million people each year and consumes 40% of public health expenditures in many African countries. Combating malaria is also critical to strengthening health infrastructures and effectively combating AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases.

If we act boldly, we can win the fight against malaria. We can end the needless death and suffering of millions and move toward the long-term goal of completely eradicating malaria from the planet. And by raising hope, opportunity and human dignity for millions, we can help restore America’s moral leadership around the world.