The 1st Malaria World Congress was held July 1 – 5 in Melbourne, Australia. With 1,000 attendees including 20 Rotary members, the purpose of the Congress was “To bring the broad spectrum of the malaria world together for the first time, to further galvanize the effort for the eradication of malaria.” There was broad agreement at the Congress that malaria elimination was best achieved with strong community participation as part of a holistic approach to strengthening local health systems. In addition, some presenters spoke in favor of nearly tripling global funding for malaria, to $7 billion from $2.5 billion currently, for eradication to be achieved efficiently. Others spoke of a two pronged approach: “Doing the hardest first” by reducing malaria incidence in the worst endemic areas, and “Going the final mile” to complete elimination programs and not leave before that goal has been attained. For more information see https://www.malariaworldcongress.org.
1st World Malaria Congress
