African Malaria Day - April 25th 2003
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On April 25th, we will all celebrate Africa Malaria Day. The theme
for this year's event is 'Insecticide Treated Nets and effective ma-
laria treatment for pregnant women and young children by 2005'

and the slogan is
'Roll Back Malaria, Protect Women and Children!'

Africa Malaria Day 2003 marks the third anniversary of the Abuja Dec-
laration.

On the 25th of April 2000, African Heads of State and Government or
their Senior Representatives from 44 malaria-endemic countries par-
ticipated in the first-ever Africa Summit on Malaria, in Abuja, Nige-
ria. At the Summit, the leaders signed the historic Abuja Declaration
committing governments to an intensive effort to halve the burden of
malaria in Africa by 2010 and setting interim targets for the year
2005.

To highlight the gravity of the malaria situation on the continent,
the leaders at the Summit also took the decision that 25 April of
each year be commemorated as Africa Malaria Day (AMD). In 2002 Africa
Malaria Day was commemorated under the theme "Mobilizing Communities
to Roll Back Malaria".

You Can Make Africa Malaria Day 2003 Successful by...

1. Holding parades or rallies culminating in entertainment These
appeal to the general public, attract the media and make it easy to
disseminate Malaria information, mixed with entertainment, to large
crowds.

2. Organising Malaria poster competitions for children Contests for
the best poster on the Africa Malaria Day 2003 theme are a great way
to involve school children in the celebrations.

3. Educating government officials Getting these highly influential
people to understand the importance of fighting malaria is critical.
Bring them along to your event and get them to participate and show
support for efforts against Malaria.

4. Arranging radio and television phone-in sessions Invite Malaria
specialists (e.g. from WHO) or local doctors who have first hand ex-
perience of Malaria to take part in TV and radio debates, so that
members of the public can phone in and have their questions answered
on air.

5. Recognising the efforts of Local Health Workers and RBM Partners
Sustain the critical efforts of those working to Roll Back Malaria by
giving awards or other forms of recognition, acknowledging the work
that they do.

6. Talking to Decision-Makers Meet with community leaders, school
principals and representatives of government ministries - not just
Health! - and other decision-makers to discuss collaborative possi-
bilities for Rolling Back Malaria.

7. Lobbying for Government Funding Collaborate with other RBM part-
ners in a focused campaign to increase government funding for Malaria
control. Inform key government representatives of the issues, brief
the media, hold a press conference, organise a letter writing cam-
paign, publish a paper illustrating the need for funding and make
clear demands.

For more information about African Malaria Day please visit
http://www.rbm.who.int
or mailto:[email protected]