[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 499 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 499

 Supporting the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, and reaffirming 
United States leadership and support for efforts to combat malaria as a 
    critical component of the President's Global Health Initiative.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 22, 2010

Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Specter, 
 Mr. Lugar, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
Johnson, and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, and reaffirming 
United States leadership and support for efforts to combat malaria as a 
    critical component of the President's Global Health Initiative.

Whereas April 25th of each year is recognized internationally as World Malaria 
        Day;
Whereas malaria is a leading cause of death and disease in many developing 
        countries, despite being completely preventable and treatable;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, 35 countries, the majority 
        of them in sub-Saharan Africa, account for 98 percent of global malaria 
        deaths;
Whereas young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable and 
        disproportionately affected by malaria;
Whereas malaria greatly affects child health, with estimates that children under 
        the age of 5 account for 85 percent of malaria deaths each year;
Whereas malaria poses great risks to maternal health, causing complications 
        during delivery, anemia, and low birth weights, with estimates that 
        malaria infection causes 400,000 cases of severe maternal anemia and 
        from 75,000 to 200,000 infant deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas heightened national, regional, and international efforts to prevent and 
        treat malaria over recent years have made measurable progress and have 
        helped save hundreds of thousands of lives;
Whereas the World Health Organization's World Malaria Report 2009 reports that 
        ``[i]n countries that have achieved high coverage of their populations 
        with bed nets and treatment programmes, recorded cases and deaths due to 
        malaria have fallen by 50%'';
Whereas the World Health Organization's World Malaria Report 2009 further states 
        that ``[t]here is evidence from Sao Tome and Principe, Zanzibar and 
        Zambia that large decreases in malaria cases and deaths have been 
        mirrored by steep declines in all-cause deaths among children less than 
        5 years of age'';
Whereas continued national, regional, and international investment is critical 
        to continue to reduce malaria deaths and to prevent backsliding in those 
        areas where progress has been made;
Whereas the United States Government has played a major leadership role in the 
        recent progress made toward reducing the global burden of malaria, 
        particularly through the President's Malaria Initiative and the United 
        States contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 
        Malaria;
Whereas President Barack Obama said on World Malaria Day in 2009, ``It is time 
        to redouble our efforts to rid the world of a disease that does not have 
        to take lives. Together, we have made great strides in addressing this 
        preventable and treatable disease. . . Together, we can build on this 
        progress against malaria, and address a broad range of global health 
        threats by investing in health systems, and continuing our work with 
        partners to deliver highly effective prevention and treatment 
        measures.'';
Whereas, under the new Global Health Initiative (GHI) launched by President 
        Obama, the United States Government is pursuing a comprehensive, whole-
        of-government approach to global health, focused on helping partner 
        countries to achieve major improvements in overall health outcomes 
        through transformational advances in access to, and the quality of, 
        healthcare services in resource-poor settings; and
Whereas recognizing the burden of malaria on many partner countries, GHI has set 
        the target for 2015 of reducing the burden of malaria by 50 percent for 
        450,000,000 people, representing 70 percent of the at-risk population in 
        Africa: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, 
        including the achievable target of ending malaria deaths by 
        2015;
            (2) calls upon the people of the United States to observe 
        World Malaria Day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
        activities to raise awareness and support to save the lives of 
        those affected by malaria;
            (3) recognizes the importance of reducing malaria 
        prevalence and deaths to improve overall child and maternal 
        health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa;
            (4) commends the recent progress made toward reducing 
        global malaria deaths and prevalence, particularly through the 
        efforts of the President's Malaria Initiative and the Global 
        Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria;
            (5) welcomes ongoing public-private partnerships to 
        research and develop more effective and affordable tools for 
        malaria diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination;
            (6) reaffirms the goals and commitments to combat malaria 
        in the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global 
        Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria 
        Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-293);
            (7) supports continued leadership and investment by the 
        United States in bilateral and multilateral efforts to combat 
        malaria as a critical part of the President's Global Health 
        Initiative; and
            (8) encourages other members of the international community 
        to sustain and scale up their support and financial 
        contributions for efforts worldwide to combat malaria.
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