[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H10212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MALARIA AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further 
consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 389) supporting the goals and 
ideals of Malaria Awareness Day, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 389

       Whereas, despite malaria being completely preventable and 
     treatable and the fact that malaria was eradicated from the 
     United States over 50 years ago, more than 40 percent of the 
     world's population is still at risk of contracting malaria;
       Whereas more than one million people die from malaria each 
     year, the vast majority of whom are children under the age of 
     five in Africa;
       Whereas 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria occur 
     annually;
       Whereas every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria, and 
     more than 3,000 children die from malaria every day;
       Whereas 90 percent of deaths from malaria occur in Africa;
       Whereas pregnant women living with malaria and their 
     children are particularly vulnerable: malaria is a major 
     cause of complications during delivery, anemia, and low birth 
     weights;
       Whereas malaria costs African countries an estimated $12 
     billion in lost economic productivity each year;
       Whereas heightened efforts to prevent and treat malaria are 
     currently saving lives;
       Whereas funding for the control of malaria has increased 
     tenfold since 2000 in large part due to funding under the 
     President's Malaria Initiative (a United States Government 
     initiative designed to cut malaria deaths in half in target 
     countries in sub-Saharan Africa), the Global Fund to Fight 
     AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank, and new 
     financing by other donors;
       Whereas in just 18 months, the President's Malaria 
     Initiative has purchased over one million artemisinin-based 
     combination therapies (ACT), protected over three million 
     people through spraying campaigns, and distributed over one 
     million insecticide-treated bed nets; the Global Fund to 
     Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has distributed 18 
     million bed nets to protect families from malaria and 
     provided 5.3 million malaria patients with ACTs; and the 
     World Bank's Booster Program is scheduled to commit 
     approximately $500 million in International Development 
     Association funds for malaria control in Africa;
       Whereas public and private partners are developing 
     effective and affordable drugs to treat malaria, with more 
     than 23 types of malaria vaccines in development;
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, vector control, or the prevention of malaria 
     transmission via anopheles mosquitoes, which includes a 
     combination of methods such as insecticide-treated bed nets, 
     indoor residual spraying, and source reduction (larval 
     control), has been shown to reduce severe morbidity and 
     mortality due to malaria in endemic regions;
       Whereas insecticide-treated bed nets have been shown to 
     reduce all-cause mortality by about 20 percent in community-
     wide trials in several African settings;
       Whereas in Africa, where 90 percent of malaria deaths 
     occur, many of those suffering most from malaria--the rural 
     poor--cannot afford even the modest cost ($5) of an 
     insecticide-treated bed net;
       Whereas a malaria-free future will rely on a comprehensive 
     approach addressing the range of health, development, and 
     economic challenges facing developing countries; and
       Whereas April 25 of each year is recognized internationally 
     as Africa Malaria Day and in the United States as Malaria 
     Awareness Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of Malaria Awareness Day; 
     and
       (2) calls upon the people of the United States to observe 
     this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
     activities to raise awareness and support to save the lives 
     of those affected by malaria.

  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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