$1.5M initiative to help end malaria, dengue launched

abu dhabi — A $1.5-million initiative that will accelerate the global fight against deadly mosquitoborne diseases was launched in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Introduced by a group of health, technology and public sector organisations, the new programme called ‘Forecasting Healthy Futures’ will use weather data to develop strategies and policies that can help governments improve health interventions amid changing weather patterns and an increase in extreme weather events.

Its seed funding worth $1.5 million (Dh5.51 million) comes from Reaching the Last Mile, an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court.

The unique group of experts behind the new programme was convened by non-profit organisation Malaria No More.

“Harnessing weather data to better fight mosquito-borne disease could be revolutionary in protecting the world’s most vulnerable, especially pregnant women and children, from deadly diseases like malaria and dengue,” said Mona Hammami, senior director, Office of Strategic Affairs to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court.

Mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika, are a major health challenge affecting 340 million people annually, with the world’s most marginalised populations bearing the brunt.

These illnesses are climatesensitive, with changing weather patterns introducing new challenges in efforts to effectively prevent, control and eliminate them.

Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, said weather-related obstacle must be turned into opportunities to “end malaria within a generation”.

“This means going beyond mitigating the effects climate change has on mosquito-borne disease prevalence to harnessing weather-related data and strategies to accelerate progress against malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases,” he said.

Malaria No More, PATH and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation will add their health expertise. Other partners include the Tableau Foundation which will provide financial support, software licences and training to boost data analytics. —