[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 57 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 429--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD MALARIA 
                                  DAY

  Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Bingaman) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 429

       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 fighting malaria is in the national security 
     interest of the United States Government, as reducing the 
     risk of malaria protects members of the Armed Forces of the 
     United States serving overseas in malaria endemic regions, 
     and reducing malaria deaths helps to promote stability in 
     less developed countries;
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, 35 countries, the majority of which are in sub-
     Saharan Africa, account for 98 percent of global malaria 
     deaths;
       Whereas young children and pregnant women are particularly 
     vulnerable to and disproportionately affected by malaria;
       Whereas malaria greatly affects child health, as children 
     under the age of 5 account for an estimated 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 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 over recent years have 
     made measurable progress and helped save hundreds of 
     thousands of lives;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2011 by the World Health 
     Organization states that in 2011, approximately 50 percent of 
     households in sub-Saharan Africa owned at least 1 
     insecticide-treated mosquito net (referred to in this 
     preamble as an ``ITN''), and household surveys indicated that 
     96 percent of people with access to an ITN within a household 
     actually used the ITN;
       Whereas, in 2010, a total of 185,000,000 people were 
     protected by indoor residual spraying (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``IRS'');
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2011 further states that 
     malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25 percent 
     globally, and 33 percent in Africa alone, since 2000;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2011 further states that 
     out of 99 countries with ongoing malaria transmissions, 43 
     countries recorded decreases of more than 50 percent in the 
     number of malaria cases between 2000 and 2010, and 8 other 
     countries recorded decreases of more than 25 percent;
       Whereas continued national, regional, and international 
     investment in efforts to eliminate malaria, including 
     prevention and treatment efforts and the development of a 
     vaccine to immunize children from the malaria parasite, is 
     critical in order to continue to reduce malaria deaths, 
     prevent backsliding in areas where progress has been made, 
     and 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 ``PMI'') 
     and the contribution of the United States to the Global Fund 
     to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria;
       Whereas the United States Government is pursuing a 
     comprehensive approach to ending malaria deaths through PMI, 
     the United States Agency for International Development, the 
     National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and the 
     private sector focused on helping partner countries to 
     achieve major improvements in overall health outcomes through 
     advances in access to, and the quality of, healthcare 
     services in resource-poor settings; and
       Whereas PMI, recognizing the burden of malaria on many 
     partner countries, has set a target of reducing the burden of 
     malaria by 50 percent for 450,000,000 people, representing 70 
     percent of the at-risk population in Africa, by 2015: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, 
     including the 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) strongly supports ongoing public-private partnerships 
     to research and develop more effective and affordable tools 
     for malaria diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination;
       (5) recognizes the goals 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; 122 Stat. 2918);
       (6) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
     bilateral, multilateral, and private sector 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 for and financial 
     contributions to efforts worldwide to combat malaria.

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