[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 60 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S2747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 15--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

  Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Boozman, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. 
Merkley) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 15

       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
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), 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.

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