IV 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 49 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 4, 2011 Mr. Payne (for himself and Mr. Fortenberry) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs CONCURRENT 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 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 2010 reports that in 2010, more African households (42 percent) owned at least one insecticide-treated mosquito net (ITN), more children under 5 years of age (35 percent) were using an ITN compared to previous years, and household ITN ownership reached more than 50 percent in 19 African countries; Whereas the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2010 further states that a total of 11 countries and one area in the African Region showed a reduction of more than 50 percent in either confirmed malaria cases or malaria admissions and deaths in recent years (Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Madagascar, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania), and that in all countries, the decreases are associated with intense malaria control interventions; 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 (PMI) and the United States contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; Whereas, on World Malaria Day in 2009, President Barack Obama stated, The U.S. stands with our global partners and people around the world to reaffirm our commitment to make the U.S. a leader in ending deaths from malaria by 2015. … It is time to redouble our efforts to rid the world of a disease that does not have to take lives.; Whereas, under the Global Health Initiative (GHI), 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, PMI 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

That Congress— (1)supports the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, including the achievable target of ending malaria deaths by 2015; (2)recognizes the importance of reducing malaria prevalence and deaths to improve overall child and maternal health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa; (3)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; (4)welcomes ongoing public-private partnerships to research and develop more effective and affordable tools for malaria diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination; (5)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); (6)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 (7)encourages other members of the international community to sustain and scale up their support and financial contributions for efforts worldwide to combat malaria.