[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2473-S2474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 426--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD MALARIA 
                                  DAY

  Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Cochran, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Kirk) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 426

       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 preventable and 
     treatable;
       Whereas fighting malaria is in the national security 
     interest of the United States, as reducing the risk of 
     malaria protects members of the United States Armed Forces 
     serving overseas in malaria-endemic regions, and reducing 
     malaria deaths helps to lower risks of instability in less 
     developed countries;
       Whereas support for efforts to fight malaria is in the 
     diplomatic and moral interests 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 identify at-risk populations, 
     provide better health services, produce healthier and more 
     productive workforces, advance economic development, and 
     promote stronger trading partners;
       Whereas 90 percent of all malaria deaths in the world are 
     in sub-Saharan Africa;
       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 accounted for an estimated 77 percent of 
     malaria deaths in 2012;
       Whereas malaria poses great risks to maternal and neonatal 
     health, causing complications during delivery, anemia, and 
     low

[[Page S2474]]

     birth weights, with estimates that malaria causes 
     approximately 10,000 cases maternal deaths and over 200,000 
     infant deaths annually in 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 2013 by the World Health 
     Organization states that in 2012, approximately 54 percent of 
     households in sub-Saharan Africa owned at least one 
     insecticide-treated mosquito net, and household surveys 
     indicated that 86 percent of people used an insecticide-
     treated mosquito net if one was available in the household;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2013 further states that 
     between 2000 and 2012, malaria mortality rates decreased by 
     45 percent around the world and by 45 percent in the African 
     Region of the World Health Organization, and an estimated 
     3,300,000 lives were spared from malaria globally, 90 percent 
     of which were children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2013 further states that 
     out of 97 countries with ongoing transmission of malaria in 
     2013, 12 countries are classified as being in the pre-
     elimination phase of malaria control, 7 countries are 
     classified as being in the elimination phase, and 7 countries 
     are classified as being in the prevention of introduction 
     phase;
       Whereas, according to the World Malaria Report 2013, there 
     were 207,000,000 cases of malaria globally in 2012, resulting 
     in an estimated 627,000 deaths;
       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 
     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 
     eliminate 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 (PMI) and the contribution of the United 
     States to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 
     Malaria;
       Whereas, in May 2011, an independent, external evaluation, 
     prepared through the Global Health Technical Assistance 
     Project, examining 6 objectives of the President's Malaria 
     Initiative, found the President's Malaria Initiative to be a 
     successful, well-led component of the Global Health 
     Initiative that has ``earned and deserves the task of 
     sustaining and expanding the United States Government's 
     response to global malaria control efforts'';
       Whereas the United States Government is pursuing a 
     comprehensive approach to ending malaria deaths through the 
     President's Malaria Initiative, 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, in 2014, the President's Malaria Initiative Report 
     found that, in 2013, the PMI alone had protected more than 
     21,000,000 residents by spraying over 5,000,000 houses with 
     insecticides, procured more than 40,000,000 long-lasting 
     ITNs, procured more than 10,000,000 sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine 
     treatments for intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) in 
     pregnant women, trained more than 16,000 health workers in 
     IPTp, procured more than 48,000,000 treatments of 
     artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and over 
     51,000,000 malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), and trained 
     more than 61,000 health workers in treatment of malaria with 
     ACTs and more than 26,000 health workers in laboratory 
     diagnosis of malaria;
       Whereas the President's Malaria Initiative 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 President's Malaria Initiative, 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 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) supports 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);
       (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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