[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 62 (Thursday, April 21, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2393-S2394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 436--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD MALARIA 
                                  DAY

  Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Isakson, Mrs. Murray, 
and Mr. Brown) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 436

       Whereas April 25 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 interest of the 
     United States, as reducing the risk of malaria protects 
     members of the Armed Forces 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 the elimination of malaria remains a bipartisan 
     priority of the United States Government;

[[Page S2394]]

       Whereas, on December 14, 2006, President George W. Bush 
     stated at the White House Malaria Summit, ``So we are acting, 
     and we're leading. And with partners across the world, we are 
     helping the people of Africa turn the tide against malaria. 
     The goal of defeating malaria is a challenging goal, yet it 
     can be done. It's not going to require a miracle, it just 
     requires a smart, sustained, focused effort.'';
       Whereas, on September 27, 2015, President Barack Obama 
     stated at the United Nations General Assembly, ``Billions of 
     our fellow human beings are at risk of dying from diseases 
     that we know how to prevent. Many children are just 1 
     mosquito bite away from death. And that is a moral outrage. 
     It is a profound injustice. It is literally a matter of life 
     and death, and now the world must act.'';
       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, in 2015, malaria transmission occurred in 95 
     countries and territories;
       Whereas an estimated 3,200,000,000 people are at risk for 
     malaria, with 214,000,000 active cases, the vast 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 70 
     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 2015 by the World Health 
     Organization states that, in 2014, approximately 55 percent 
     of people in sub-Saharan Africa slept under an insecticide-
     treated mosquito net, and household surveys indicated that 90 
     percent of people used an insecticide-treated mosquito net if 
     such a net was available in the household;
       Whereas, in 2014, approximately 116,000,000 people were 
     protected by indoor residual spraying;
       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2015 further states that, 
     between 2000 and 2015--
       (1) malaria mortality rates decreased by 60 percent around 
     the world;
       (2) in the African Region of the World Health Organization, 
     malaria mortality rates decreased by 66 percent; and
       (3) an estimated 6,200,000 malaria deaths were averted 
     globally, primarily as a result of increased interventions;

       Whereas the World Malaria Report 2015 further states that, 
     out of 95 countries and territories with ongoing transmission 
     of malaria in 2015--
       (1) 10 countries are classified as being in the pre-
     elimination phase;
       (2) 10 countries are classified as being in the elimination 
     phase; and
       (3) 9 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--
       (1) continue to reduce malaria deaths;
       (2) prevent backsliding in areas where progress has been 
     made; and
       (3) 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 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 PMI Strategy 2015-2020 articulates the malaria 
     goal of the United States Government of working with 
     countries and partners to further reduce malaria deaths and 
     substantially decrease malaria morbidity, towards the long-
     term goal of elimination;
       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 not fewer than 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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