[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 436 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 436

         Supporting the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 2016

    Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Isakson, Mrs. Murray, 
 and Mr. Brown) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
         Supporting the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day.

Whereas April 25 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 preventable and treatable;
Whereas fighting malaria is in the national interest of the United States, as 
        reducing the risk of malaria protects members of the Armed Forces and 
        other people of the United States serving overseas in malaria-endemic 
        regions, and reducing malaria deaths helps to lower risks of instability 
        in less developed countries;
Whereas the elimination of malaria remains a bipartisan priority of the United 
        States Government;
Whereas, on December 14, 2006, President George W. Bush stated at the White 
        House Malaria Summit, ``So we are acting, and we're leading. And with 
        partners across the world, we are helping the people of Africa turn the 
        tide against malaria. The goal of defeating malaria is a challenging 
        goal, yet it can be done. It's not going to require a miracle, it just 
        requires a smart, sustained, focused effort.'';
Whereas, on September 27, 2015, President Barack Obama stated at the United 
        Nations General Assembly, ``Billions of our fellow human beings are at 
        risk of dying from diseases that we know how to prevent. Many children 
        are just 1 mosquito bite away from death. And that is a moral outrage. 
        It is a profound injustice. It is literally a matter of life and death, 
        and now the world must act.'';
Whereas support for efforts to fight malaria is in the diplomatic and moral 
        interest of the United States, as that support generates goodwill toward 
        the United States and highlights the values of the people of the United 
        States through the work of governmental, nongovernmental, and faith-
        based organizations of the United States;
Whereas efforts to fight malaria are in the long-term economic interest of the 
        United States because those efforts help developing countries--

    (1) identify at-risk populations;

    (2) provide a framework for critical emergency disease treatment;

    (3) provide better health services;

    (4) increase local governance needed to address substandard and 
counterfeit medicines that exacerbate malaria resistance;

    (5) produce healthier and more productive workforces;

    (6) advance economic development; and

    (7) promote stronger trading partners;

Whereas in 2015, malaria transmission occurred in 95 countries and territories;
Whereas an estimated 3,200,000,000 people are at risk for malaria, with 
        214,000,000 active cases, the vast majority of whom are in sub-Saharan 
        Africa, which accounts for 90 percent of malaria deaths in the world;
Whereas young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to and 
        disproportionately affected by malaria;
Whereas malaria greatly affects the health of children, as children under the 
        age of 5 account for an estimated 70 percent of malaria deaths each 
        year;
Whereas malaria poses great risks to maternal and neonatal health, causing 
        complications during delivery, anemia, and low birth weights, and 
        estimates indicate that malaria infection causes approximately 400,000 
        cases of severe maternal anemia and between 75,000 and 200,000 infant 
        deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas heightened national, regional, and international efforts to prevent and 
        treat malaria during recent years have made significant progress and 
        helped save hundreds of thousands of lives;
Whereas the World Malaria Report 2015 by the World Health Organization states 
        that, in 2014, approximately 55 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa 
        slept under an insecticide-treated mosquito net, and household surveys 
        indicated that 90 percent of people used an insecticide-treated mosquito 
        net if such a net was available in the household;
Whereas in 2014, approximately 116,000,000 people were protected by indoor 
        residual spraying;
Whereas the World Malaria Report 2015 further states that, between 2000 and 
        2015--

    (1) malaria mortality rates decreased by 60 percent around the world;

    (2) in the African Region of the World Health Organization, malaria 
mortality rates decreased by 66 percent; and

    (3) an estimated 6,200,000 malaria deaths were averted globally, 
primarily as a result of increased interventions;

Whereas the World Malaria Report 2015 further states that, out of 95 countries 
        and territories with ongoing transmission of malaria in 2015--

    (1) 10 countries are classified as being in the preelimination phase;

    (2) 10 countries are classified as being in the elimination phase; and

    (3) 9 countries are classified as being in the prevention of malaria 
reintroduction phase of malaria control;

Whereas continued national, regional, and international investment in efforts to 
        eliminate malaria, including prevention and treatment efforts, the 
        development of a vaccine to immunize children from the malaria parasite, 
        and advancements in insecticides, are critical in order to--

    (1) continue to reduce malaria deaths;

    (2) prevent backsliding in areas where progress has been made; and

    (3) equip the United States and the global community with the tools 
necessary to fight malaria and other global health threats;

Whereas the United States Government has played a leading role in the recent 
        progress made toward reducing the global burden of malaria, particularly 
        through the President's Malaria Initiative (referred to in this preamble 
        as the ``PMI'') and the contribution of the United States to the Global 
        Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria;
Whereas an independent, external evaluation, prepared by Boston University, 
        examining 6 objectives of the PMI, found the PMI to be a successful, 
        well-led program that has ``earned and deserves the task of sustaining 
        and expanding the United States Government's response to global malaria 
        control efforts'';
Whereas the PMI Strategy 2015-2020 articulates the malaria goal of the United 
        States Government of working with countries and partners to further 
        reduce malaria deaths and substantially decrease malaria morbidity, 
        towards the long-term goal of elimination;
Whereas the United States Government is pursuing a comprehensive approach to 
        ending malaria deaths through the PMI, which is led by the United States 
        Agency for International Development and implemented with assistance 
        from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of 
        State, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National 
        Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and private sector 
        entities;
Whereas the PMI focuses on helping partner countries achieve major improvements 
        in overall health outcomes through improved access to, and quality of, 
        healthcare services in locations with limited resources; and
Whereas the PMI, recognizing the burden of malaria on many partner countries, 
        has set a target by 2020 of reducing malaria mortality by \1/3\ from 
        2015 levels in PMI-supported countries, achieving a greater than 80-
        percent reduction from original 2000 baseline levels set by the PMI, 
        reducing malaria morbidity in PMI-supported countries by 40 percent from 
        2015 levels, and assisting not fewer than 5 PMI-supported countries to 
        meet the criteria of the World Health Organization for national or 
        subnational preelimination: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day;
            (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 morbidity, mortality, 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) recognizes the goals, priorities, and authorities to 
        combat malaria set forth 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; 
        122 Stat. 2918);
            (6) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
        bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts to combat 
        malaria and to work with developing countries to create long-
        term strategies to increase ownership over malaria programs; 
        and
            (7) encourages other members of the international community 
        to sustain and increase their support for and financial 
        contributions to efforts to combat malaria worldwide.
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