Our Origin

Our malaria work is launched with two words from Bill Gates, Sr.  “Eradicate malaria.” A small committee of Rotarians based in Seattle announce The Second Century Project, a malaria eradication project.

Founding board member Nancy Osborne speaking with fellow Rotarian, Bill Gates Sr.

The First Project

We begin our first project based in Zambia distributing bed nets with the Zambian Rotary Club. We are encouraged by Zambian Rotarians to propose malaria control projects, seeking funding from the Rotary Club of Seattle.

Founding board member, Jim Moore supplying bed nets to new mothers.

Early Global Grants

Jim Moore, a founding board member, led a delegation of Rotarians and friends to Zambia’s Mufulira and Kalulushi, highly endemic malaria zones in the Copperbelt. These visits set the stage for a series of Rotary global grants to train community health workers throughout the Copperbelt. This early effort led to additional projects that have trained 1,556 Community Health Workers (CHWs) who provide healthcare to nearly 800,000 people.

Members of the Board visited Tanzania to foster collaboration with local Rotaries and resident NGOs on malaria projects.

Program Expansion

In May 2012, a meeting expanded our project scope. Joint-funding from World Vision and a Rotary Foundation Competitive Grant allowed us to provide:

• 65,000 insecticide treated bednets
• 10,000 doses of antimalarial drugs
• 10,000 rapid diagnostic test kits (RDTs)
• 2,000 intermittent preventive Treatment in pregnancy kits

Rotarian Malaria Partners is Formed.

Evolving from a steering committee into an independent 501(C)(3) organization. This allows us to accept funds directly from individuals and organizations wanting to support our work.

Igniting an International Rotarian Campaign to end Malaria.

New Partners, Bigger Projects

In Zambia, Rotary, World Vision, and Expanded Church Response working together to provide bed net protection for 90+% of the 217,000 residents in the districts of Kalulushi and Lufwanyama within the Copperbelt Province.

In Tanzania, we provide grants to support malaria projects and address Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a cancer in children with links to chronic malaria.

In Uganda, a delegation of Rotarians collaborate with the National Malaria Control Centre and malaria-focused non-governmental organizations. We sponsor and participate in a Ssese Island Rotary Medical Camp and a Katakwi District malaria test and treat community event.

The Katakwi Project

Global Grant Phase I approved for Uganda “Malaria Control and Health Care Strengthening” in Katakwi District. This grant provided for mass drug administration, indoor residual spraying and community education across three sub-counties in Katakwi District.

The launch of “Pledge to End Malaria Pin Campaign” amongst U.S. based Rotaries begins as part of a broad based advocacy campaign.

Return to the Copperbelt and the Small Grants Program

This year serves as a catalyst for the 2019-2021 Rotary Copperbelt Province Malaria Elimination Project with the support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

We focus on training and equipping Community Health Workers (CHWs) on the Copperbelt to deliver health care to local communities, focusing on malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia prevention, detection, and treatment.

We launch our Small Grants Program, providing funding for malaria projects submitted by Rotary clubs across the world.

Rotary District Grants and Conferences

The Rotary Clubs of Seattle and Mansa join forces with a district grant that distributes bed nets to villages near the city of Mansa, India.

Rotarian Malaria Partners attend and present at District 9211 Rotary conferences in Uganda and Zambia.

The Founding of Rotarian Malaria Partners Zambia

Our affiliate organization in Zambia is formed as Rotarian Malaria Partners Zambia (RMPZ). This formation begins the Copperbelt Zambia malaria elimination project.

Newly hired RMPZ Executive Director, Martha Lungu, sought guidance from the Copperbelt Provincial Health Office on which districts to focus. In cooperation with the Government of Zambia, non-governmental organizations including PATH/MACEPA, World Vision, Malaria Partners International and Rotary Clubs committed to eradicating malaria.

Rotary’s role in the project is to generate funding to train the 3,500 Community Health Workers needed to complement the Government’s elimination efforts in the Copperbelt over the period 2018-2021.

Rotarian Malaria Partners receives capacity building two-year grant from the BIll & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant helped fund a marketing budget for malaria advocacy, an Executive Director for RMP U.S., and the establishment of affiliates in Zambia and Uganda.

The RMPZ founding board.

The Founding of Rotarian Malaria Partners Uganda

Our affiliate organization in Uganda is formed as Rotarian Malaria Partners Uganda (RMPU). This organization’s activities includes rallying Rotary members in Uganda in partnership with its Global Chapters and a wide spectrum of strategic partnerships – including Uganda’s Ministry of Health and Parliamentary Forum on Malaria – to change the malaria prevalence and incidence landscape towards elimination.

Spearheaded by Steve Crane and Adriana Lanting, a grant is awarded from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, matching 1:1 every dollar that a Rotary Club/District contributes to a Rotary grant.

This meeting incentivized ten large clubs to contribute funds to the Copperbelt projects in Zambia and to have two members join the Rotarian Malaria Partners Board of Directors.

Adriana Lanting speaking to Long Beach Rotarians. With her: Steve Crane, Bill Feldt, and Jim Moore.

Malaria Partners International

We introduce Malaria Partners International. Our name refresh marks the next phase of our growth as we launch a more ambitious campaign of advocacy and education over the next year.

This will include a continuation of our malaria focused webinar series, increased transparency, and a renewed focus on inspiring the Rotary community.

We are Bridge Builders – connecting Rotary and the broader global health community to prevent malaria and address its effects on maternal and child health.

The Founding of Malaria Partners West Africa

After three years of preparatory projects, the creation of MPWA allows us to accelerate Rotarian efforts to advocate for and lead initiatives aimed at eliminating malaria within Rotary District 9101 (Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Cape Verde Islands).