[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 72 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2649-S2650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD MALARIA DAY
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 451, S. Res. 436.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 436) supporting the goals and ideals
of World Malaria Day.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations, without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble, as
follows:
(Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic.)
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;
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 one
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;
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
[[Page S2650]]
(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, in 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 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.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to; the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be
agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and the motions to
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no
intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 436) was agreed to.
The committee-reported amendment to the preamble in the nature of a
substitute was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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