French
research
rallies
to the cause
In the face of malaria, a plague that is likely to affect more
than 2 billion people in around one hundred countries in the South,
mobilisation of the international community has increased
significantly in recent years. Through its financial commitments,
its actions in the field, and its research and training programmes,
France has confirmed itself as a key player in this international
mobilisation against malaria.
Multilateral cooperation
In order to provide support for the most vulnerable populations, France has opted for multilateral cooperation,
particularly through significant participation in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This financial
arrangement contributes 60% of world funding for the fight against malaria. To date, France is the primary
European contributor to this Global Fund, and is its second biggest donor, after the United States.
France has also associated with other international initiatives against malaria, such as the “Roll Back Malaria” programme headed by the WHO,
or through financing UNITAID or DNDi (Drug for neglected diseases initiatives), programmes that make it easier to provide treatment for the most
poverty-stricken populations. Many French NGO participate very actively in the field as part of the mobilisation against this disease.
Distributing mosquito nets.
Deeply committed research
For many years, a large number of French research teams have been mobilised against malaria in laboratories
and in the field, particularly at the Pasteur Institute and the IRD, as well as at Inserm, the CNRS, several universities
and the Military Health Department. Their programmes, which are supported by the French State Departments for
Foreign and European Affairs, and Research, have been implemented in close collaboration with the national
research organisations in the countries in the South. They include actions to train and support scientific teams
in these countries, as a means of reinforcing their ability to conduct research into malaria.
In France, particularly with sanofi-aventis’ “Impact Malaria” initiative, the pharmaceutics industry is now a stakeholder in these efforts through a variety
of actions: researching new anti-malarial compounds, making treatments available at cost price for public health services, developing tools
for training medical personnel and raising awareness in the communities.
France contributes 16% of international
funding, thus making it the world’s
second biggest contributor to the fight
against malaria.
Preparing mosquitoes for analysis in laboratories.
The fight goes on…
In the last decade, significant progress has been made. Today, malaria can be avoided, diagnosed and treated
thanks to a combination of means: mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides, high performance diagnosis tools,
effective treatments against resistance, and so on, without forgetting the information campaigns targeted
at the populations concerned. However, to attain the Millenium Objective for 2015 of controlling the disease,
as envisaged by the international community, the mobilisation of all the key players, in the South and
in the North, must, more than ever, continue.
Manufacturing impregnated mosquito nets in Tanzania.