End Malaria Fund surpasses E9.3 million, channels funds to malaria eradication drive
Asensational success story! With only four years of existence, the End Malaria Fund (EMF), a collaborative effort between the government of Eswatini, the private sector, and community leaders, has made significant strides in mobilizing resources to support the National Malaria Programme (NMP) in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Since its inception, the EMF has successfully raised a total of E9.3 million, largely thanks to support from the private sector, public sector, and civil society.
The End Malaria Fund is a public-private partnership between the government of Eswatini, the private sector, and community leaders to mobilize, manage, and distribute funds in support of the National Malaria Programme (NMP). It comprises of a multisectoral board of directors which includes senior government officials, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), and traditional leaders. The Fund was founded on three main objectives; eliminate domestic transmission of malaria in the Kingdom of Eswatini; sustain elimination thereafter through surveillance, testing, and case management; and support malaria elimination at the sub-regional and regional levels.
The Fund developed a resource mobilization strategy aimed at garnering support from both the private and public sectors, as well as grassroots levels, for financial and in-kind resources to support the National Malaria Programme in pursuit of malaria elimination.
The EMF has assets that they have a twotier resource mobilization strategy which encompasses the domestic resource mobilization and the regional and international resource mobilization sourced from various organizations. According to EMF, on the domestic resource mobilization, the Fund identifies and draws up lists of private sector entities for potential funding through their Corporate Social Investments (CSI). The Fund further makes preparations for submission of proposals to the various entities.
The End Malaria Fund as part of their domestic resource mobilization, they organize events such as their annual golf day,
resource mobilization conferences and the last mile Malaria walk. They also advocate for support from public sector entities such as governmental organizations, religious institutions, traditional leadership, and youth groups. The Fund expresses that the groups’ contributions are recognized as valuable resources that aid in achieving the goal of malaria elimination.
On the regional and international resource mobilization strategy, EMF identifies and draw up lists of regional and international agencies with a potential to contribute funds to the End Malaria Fund leveraging on their CSI. With this strategy, the Fund also prepare and submit funding proposals to the identified external organizations.
Since its launch by His Majesty King Mswati III in 2019, the End Malaria Fund has successfully raised E9.3 million, which was pumped by the private sector, public sector, and civil society. The King served as the African Leaders Malaria Chairperson from 2017 to 2020.
Interventions
EMF reports that from the E9.3 million, a total of E2.2 million has been allocated to support the National Malaria Programme (NMP) under the Ministry of Health. In the programme, the funds are utilized for various interventions aimed at Malaria elimination. EMF receives funding requests from the NMP, where they undergo review by a technical committee comprising of representatives from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and most recently, the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/ AIDS (NERCHA). Following this evaluation, recommendations are forwarded to the board for independent decision-making on these requests.
Moreover, the EMF has viewed out the key initiatives that the Fund has supported. Some of these include the vector management where the EMF has provided support to the NMP to ensure the successful execution of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) without interruption. Specifically, the EMF extended contracts for IRS personnel and facilitated the servicing of IRS trucks used in communities. This support to the NMP which arose as a gap was essential for maintaining the effectiveness of IRS operations and ensuring that the communities at high risk of malaria receive adequate protection against mosquitos.