[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 64 (Thursday, April 30, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2582-S2583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 165--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD MALARIA 
                                  DAY

  Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Cochran, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Cardin, and 
Mr. Brown) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

                              S. Res. 165

       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;

[[Page S2583]]

       Whereas fighting malaria is in the national interest of the 
     United States, as reducing the risk of malaria protects 
     members of the Armed Forces of the United States 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 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 malaria transmission occurred in 97 countries and 
     territories in 2014, and an estimated 3,200,000,000 people 
     are at risk for malaria, the 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 78 
     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 2014 by the World Health 
     Organization states that in 2013, approximately 49 percent of 
     households in sub-Saharan Africa owned at least one 
     insecticide-treated mosquito net, and household surveys 
     indicated that 90 percent of people used an insecticide-
     treated mosquito net if one was available in the household;
       Whereas, in 2013, approximately 123,000,000 people were 
     protected by indoor residual spraying;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2014 further states that 
     between 2000 and 2013--
       (1) malaria mortality rates decreased by 47 percent around 
     the world;
       (2) in the African Region of the World Health Organization, 
     malaria mortality rates decreased by 54 percent; and
       (3) an estimated 4,300,000 malaria deaths were averted 
     globally, primarily as a result of increased interventions;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2014 further states that 
     out of 97 countries with ongoing transmission of malaria in 
     2014--
       (1) 10 countries are classified as being in the pre-
     elimination phase;
       (2) 9 countries are classified as being in the elimination 
     phase; and
       (3) 7 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 
     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 the 
     ``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 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 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 at least 5 PMI-supported 
     countries to meet the criteria of the World Health 
     Organization for national or sub-national pre-elimination: 
     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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