Happy 2023!

Malaria Partners International is driven by our vision of a malaria-free world. The ignition of an International Rotary Campaign is ever growing as Rotarians are realizing malaria must be defeated.

To that end, I am pleased to present the Malaria Partners International 2022 Annual Report.

I would also like to share a brief glimpse into what the future of our fight to end malaria looks like. In 2023 we look forward to accelerating our efforts to reduce the malaria burden and bring our vision closer in three key ways.

• Advocacy. MPI will continue to advance outreach efforts to educate, fundraise and share with Rotarians worldwide this incredible opportunity to save the lives of so many women, men and especially children. We will continue to engage with Rotary leadership. MPI will participate in the Malaria Congress immediately preceding the International Convention in Melbourne. We will have increased participation in Rotary Zone Institutes and will work to strengthen relationships through district Conferences and club presentations.
• Country Affiliates. Currently we are in various stages of collaboration to grow grant and advocacy action in six countries: Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, the DRC, and Tanzania. Working with key local Rotarians, Ministries of Health, and National Malaria Elimination Programs will result in new affiliates able to provide support to those beginning or scaling malaria elimination activities aligned with their respective
  national programs.
• Grants. 2023 will bring a new member to our staff dedicated to managing a new streamlined process. Our program is realizing explosive growth as MPI continues to award funds to Rotarian projects aligned with respective national programs in malaria endemic countries.

We continue to rely on the expertise, experience and energy of you, our partners and friends, for the synergy and the financial support that you share with us. It has been a great privilege to join forces and work alongside each of you. I look forward to sharing our efforts in the
year to come.

To all of you, I extend my deepest appreciation.

Adriana Lanting
Board Chair
RC Long Beach

To ignite an international Rotarian campaign to end malaria.

Our African-based affiliates are independent, non-governmental organizations, led by boards of directors and staff that are typically Rotary members, living in malaria endemic regions. They have initiated interest and organized to join this important work, and each is as unique as the region it represents. Malaria Partners Uganda and Zambia are well established, while Malaria Partners West Africa was established at the end of 2021. MPI’s goal is to continue to assist in the development of additional affiliates in malaria endemic regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. We network, collaborate, and inspire one another in this very important work. Please enjoy the following reports from our in-country affiliates.

Modestine Kaoma & Dr. Mwangala Muyedekwa
Co-Board Chairs

Martha Lungu
Executive Director

MPZ is deeply engaged in coordinating local Rotary efforts with those of Zambia’s Ministry of Health, a long list of world health organizations, and private sector funding partners in the work of eliminating malaria in Zambia, one of Africa’s most endemic regions. Our team’s work is best represented by reports from two of the Rotary International grant programs we help oversee.

PARTNERS FOR A MALARIA-FREE ZAMBIA

Rotary International’s first Program of Scale, Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia, seeks to amplify the positive effects of the presence of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in ten priority districts in Central and Muchinga Provinces in Zambia, significantly reducing the number of severe cases of malaria, deaths, and the number of cases in these districts.

In 2022, the program finished the work of training 2,500 CHWs who are now providing community level healthcare to about 1.25 million Zambians. These 2,500 CHWs are attached to 245 rural health facilities to whom they report the number of community members they have tested and treated for malaria. The facility in turn incorporates the data into a national malaria reporting system. The CHWs also receive training in diagnosing respiratory and diarrheal diseases.

The Rotary-led implementation team, of Rotarian volunteers and World Vision Zambia staff, focuses on strengthening the effectiveness of the CHWs through data quality audits, training Neighborhood Health Committees, and enlisting community, religious and tribal leaders to help spread the message throughout the ten districts on how to prevent malaria, recognize its symptoms and seek prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Zambian Rotarians have volunteered over 5,000 hours to support the implementation of PMFZ activities, from training to data quality to community outreach. Zambian Rotarians also arranged for the CHWs to participate in an enhanced polio vaccination program in the ten districts following the detection of polio in neighboring Malawi.

The implementation team closely monitors the supply of malaria medicines and Rapid Diagnostic Test kits (RDTs) and reports their findings to the relevant authorities. The national government is responsible for providing medicines and RDTs to the CHWs.

Ken Mugisha
Board Chair

Abdallah Kayongo
Executive Director

Malaria Partners Uganda (MPU) works with local Rotary clubs to coordinate anti-malaria events and efforts and within the greater Rotary leadership to assure consistent messaging and communication on all malaria-related campaigns. Team members engage in meetings with government and private sector leadership to demonstrate Rotary’s commitment to and success in the fight to end malaria.
In 2022, MPU hosted informational booths at both of the initial district conferences for new Ugandan Rotary Districts 9213 and 9214. Both World Malaria Day and World Mosquito Day were commemorated with community education and blood drives. Blood is extremely important in treating malaria as anemia is a major cause of death in people suffering from malaria.
While engaged in the launch of the Mass Action Against Malaria (MAAS) taskforce in Moroto district, the MPU team helped improve community awareness of the Ministry of Health’s intermittent administration of anti-malaria treatment courses to children in high transmission areas.
Participating in both the midterm and expert review meetings of the Malaria Reduction Strategic Plan with National Malaria Elimination Centre and Ugandan Ministry of Health, the MPU team stressed the vital asset that local Rotary clubs and members offer their communities in disbursing information and resources to help fight malaria.
MPU made presentations to several Rotary clubs and held focus group discussions to facilitate applications to Malaria Partners International’s Small Grant program. Eight of MPI’s 2022 small grants were awarded to Ugandan Rotary and Rotaract clubs.

UGANDAN MALARIA ELIMINATION PROGRAM

The Uganda Malaria Elimination Program is a $1.2 Million collaboration among Rotary, World Vision, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Pilgrim Africa. This project strengthens the public health infrastructure by serving 700,000 residents in two districts of Uganda where there is a high prevalence of malaria. It aims to control malaria transmission and decrease morbidity and mortality using the evidence-based strategy of Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) implemented by Village Health Team workers (VHTs). The program trains and equips 1,700 Village Health Workers and strengthens the Ministry of Health’s capacity to conduct ongoing supervision of service levels and data reporting.
The opportunities to help eliminate malaria are endless, and the MPU team works tirelessly, to ensure that Rotary is a visible and reliable partner in unifying Uganda to end malaria.

Dr. Emma Bruce
Executive Director

MPWA had a highly successful first year in 2022. Operating as the anti-malaria coordinating entity for the ten countries of Rotary District 9101, under the leadership of Executive Director Dr. Emma Bruce, MPWA helped generate, implement and report on small grant proposals initiated by local Rotary clubs, presented malaria elimination efforts to Rotarians and Rotary leaders, supported national malaria control programs through visits and projects in several countries and served as a regional advocate for malaria control, prevention, and elimination efforts.

2022 BY THE NUMBERS

• 1,800 Rotarians from 60 West African Rotary Clubs engaged in anti-malaria activities.
• The MPWA team met and presented to 15 African District Governors and District Governors-Elect.
• MPWA initiated and provided oversight to projects in four countries reaching almost 500,000 people.
• Dr. Bruce met with Rotary President Jennifer Jones and presented MPWA/D9101 malaria elimination activities.
• MPWA met with National Malaria Control Program leaders in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Senegal.
• The team strengthened partnerships with regional NGO leaders, including the President’s Malaria Initiative, Catholic Relief Services, PATH, Malaria Partners International and Rotarians Against Malaria Global.

2022 BY COUNTRY

• • The Gambia. Community Outreach in support of Senegambia’s long-lasting insecticide-treated net distribution campaign.
  • Sierra Leone. Supported a six-clinic program, National Malaria Day public awareness campaign, school malaria control and prevention TV quiz contest.
  • Liberia. Participated in national media programs and jingles about malaria prevention, education of pregnant women and mothers, and billboards at major intersections with anti-malaria messages.
  • The Gambia. Micro-spraying program in a dense area of the capital city.
  • Burkina Faso. Provided microscopes, supplies, and training in their use for a small health clinic serving rural populations.
  • The Gambia. Completed a malaria education program for pregnant women & mothers at two hospitals.

Malaria Partners International formalized its small grant program in early 2020. Through Rotary clubs in malaria-endemic regions, this program promotes community initiated and led efforts that suit their region and population. In just over two years, the MPI Small Grant program has funded 24 projects in 11 primarily sub-Saharan African countries totaling $98,532.
MPI’s Small Grant Program was very active in 2022, launching 13 new projects summarized as follows:

• RC Oyster Bay (Tanzania) Funded an anti-malaria component of this club’s annual medical camp in Dar es Salaam.
• RC Kyengera (Uganda) Six-month start-up of three-year village clean-up, sensitization, and VHT training program.
• RC Bukadea (Uganda) Malaria screening of primary schools with testing and treatment of students.
  RC Kiwatule (Uganda) Rotaractors based at the Nakivale Refugee Camp established and provided oversight of a rapid assessment and multi-cultural sensitization program.
• RC Muyenga Tankhill (Uganda) Wastewater cleanup, insecticide-treated bed net distribution, and community education and prevention program.
• RC Busia (Uganda) Community sensitization, VHT (village health team) training, insecticide-treaded bed net distribution resulting in a 25% reduction in malaria prevalence.
• RC Kupang Central (East Timor) Participated in funding a scoping analysis to bring this island nation to zero malaria cases.
• RC Abaya-Aba (Nigeria) Bednet distribution focused on pregnant and nursing women, along with sensitization in two urban marketplaces.
• Rotary Malaria Committee of Sierra Leone Community outreach and media programming on Malaria Day.
• RC Makindye West (Uganda) By training additional VHTs (village health teams) armed with insecticide-treated bed nets and rapid diagnostic test kits the project aims to significantly reduce the malaria case load at local health facilities to just 5% of all under-five and expectant mother cases.
• Rotary Malaria Committee of Burkina Faso Funded the acquisition of a microscope and related diagnostic equipment at the Koubri Medical Center.
• RC Makindye (Uganda) A project to measurably diminish malaria-related caseload and build community awareness.
• RC Bugiri (Uganda) Build the capacity of 70 VHT’s. Using local District health Information data, the project will measure malaria reduction in children under 5-year-old and expectant mothers.

In 2022, Malaria Partners International dramatically elevated the visibility of Rotary’s anti-malaria efforts both within and outside of Rotary. Educational materials are distributed by local Rotary clubs to malaria-endemic communities through our small grants. Our access to making virtual presentations to Rotary clubs may have slowed, as COVID lifted and clubs reinitiated in-person gatherings, but MPI’s Executive Director visited and presented to 14 Rotary clubs in Arizona which resulted in an invitation for MPI to be a plenary speaker at the 2023 district conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

The 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston offered opportunities for development of countless
new relationships and celebration of Rotary’s successes in fighting malaria. In collaboration with RAM-G
(Rotarians Against Malaria – Global), MPI hosted a reception attended by 150 people including members of the boards of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, as well as leaders from our partner NGOs, with a keynote address by RI President Jennifer Jones. Two well attended breakout sessions focused on Partners for a Malaria Free Zambia, and our booth provided a gathering place for conversations regarding potential projects and collaborations.

In September, members of the MPI board and staff joined Rotary International President Jennifer Jones, and a team of Rotary executives, for a week in Zambia, meeting with local government officials as well as leadership from partner organizations and local Rotary clubs. Visiting Zambia’s Central Province, RIP Jones spoke with Community Health Workers, seeing their work firsthand. As Rotary International’s first female President, Jennifer Jones’ visit to Zambia drew a great deal of attention and was covered widely by the news media, television and radio.

Partners for a Malaria Free Zambia was the subject of a 10-page article in Rotary Magazine’s December issue, sharing stories of the personal heartbreak loss that motivates many Zambians and their sincere appreciation for Rotary’s leadership in the fight to end the needless deaths caused by malaria.

Malaria Partners International is pleased to report that during 2022 we dramatically increased the scope and impact of our malaria eradication efforts, both in geographic areas of our previous efforts, as well as countries new to MPI. Total grants supporting our African-based MPI affiliates, and Rotary-led malaria projects, rose to $538,442, in 2022, a 182% increase over the $190,371 we distributed in 2021. Importantly, the malaria programs we support attack malaria at the grassroots level by directly engaging Rotary Clubs in some of the world’s most malaria endemic regions.

MPI significantly increased both fundraising efforts and results during 2022. Total contributions reached $1,167,930, an 81% increase over the $645,498 raised in 2021. The largest year-over-year increase occurred in our grants from Foundations, rising to $943,988 in 2022 from the $477,668 in 2021. The MPI board and leadership appreciates the consistent support of our work and mission by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Thank you! All the malaria elimination progress made by MPI this year, and the accomplishments we anticipate in the future, are only possible because of the generous support of our donors who are committed to the global eradication of malaria.