As the CDC Turns 70, What Can the World Learn From its Victory Over Malaria?
We know what needs to be done to eliminate malaria worldwide, and we are making progress in doing it.
By Ambassador Daniel Speckhard
In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria will likely kill more than 390,000 people this year, three quarters of them children under 5.
Here in the U.S., malaria will probably kill nobody. For us, a mosquito bite just is a pesky summer annoyance that spoils picnics, instead of a stealthy killer.
But there was a time in our not-too-distant history when malaria was a major health problem in the U.S., concentrated mostly in the temperate South. In the early 20th century, states like Arkansas, Florida and Mississippi had 40 malaria deaths per 100,000 population, a rate comparable to some places in Africa today. Researchers estimate that malaria infected as many as 1 in 25 Southerners each year.
We don’t think about malaria much today because it was eradicated in the early 1950s through a campaign led by an agency that would become what today is known as the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was founded on July 1, 1946 and is marking its 70th anniversary. The concerted eradication effort included spraying rural homes with pesticide, primarily DDT, draining swamps and eliminating mosquito breeding sites.
So is it possible to do globally what the CDC achieved here? Absolutely. We know what needs to be done to eliminate malaria worldwide, and we are making progress in doing it. Between 2000 and 2015, malaria mortality rates fell by 60 percent globally and by 66 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of new cases fell by 37 percent globally and by 42 percent in Africa.
These gains are the result of a concerted effort by programs like the President’s Malaria Initiative that provide more access to treatment, combined with effective malaria prevention and education measures. We are grateful for the support of Congress in recognizing the importance of this effort, especially the leadership of Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) of the House and Senate Malaria and Neglected Tropical Disease Caucuses.
Part of the reason for the Initiative’s success is that it brings together a broad coalition including the U.S. government, local governments, civil society organizations, nonprofits and the private sector to coordinate efforts and take advantage of synergies. The organization I lead, Lutheran World Relief, has seen success in working with communities of faith. A family is often more receptive to the message that they need to sleep under a treated mosquito net when it comes from a pastor or a trusted church leader rather than an outsider.
Fighting malaria isn’t just a public health issue. It’s also a key part of the effort to eliminate poverty and foster sustainable development in the developing world, especially in Africa. Malaria takes a significant economic toll, both at the household level, when families are faced with medical expenses and a loss of income because of an inability to work, as well as at the national level, as these costs are aggregated. Malaria prevention and eradication work in tandem with our efforts to reduce poverty by improving food security and nutrition, providing clean water and fostering good governance. None of these programs work in isolation and together they create a synergy that is making a difference in the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
But the enemy of success like this is complacency. These programs are working and they need continued support. It is vital that we not let our attention wander. As we face new health challenges like Zika, we will increasingly rely on a health infrastructure built as part of the fight against malaria that will be invaluable as we tackle other diseases. When we build clinics, train health workers and educate local populations on disease prevention, we are building a health system that will be in place to move quickly in the face of new health threats.
We know what we need to do to eliminate malaria. We’ve done it here. This is why I am hopeful that in the not-too-distant future, we will be celebrating anniversaries of when we ended this dreadful disease.
Ambassador Daniel Speckhard (rt.) is president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, an international humanitarian organization. He previously served in both Republican and Democratic administrations as ambassador to Greece and to Belarus, deputy chief of Mission in Iraq, and a senior official at NATO.
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on July 1, 2016.
