New University of Pennsylvania Malaria Report

Published February 26, 2009 @ 11:12PM PT

(photo credit: Center for High-Impact Philanthropy)

The Center for High-Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania recently issued an impressive new report on malaria. It looks at the cost-effectiveness of interventions to fight malaria, providing recommendations on the anti-malaria efforts which provide the most impact for the dollar. I had never heard of the Center for High-Impact Philanthropy before, but I was impressed by the report. It’s a dense compilation of background on malaria, strategies to combat the disease, and analysis of effectiveness.

The authors break down malaria interventions into three categories: treat and prevent now, build systems for the long term, and innovate for the future. Treatment and prevention now includes strategies to improve current delivery systems of effective prevention and treatment. Building systems for the long term covers building health system capacity, creating information networks, and preparing future health leaders. Innovation for the future is all about research on new treatments, better policy, and operations research.

It’s hard to summarize a report this dense, but the conclusions come down to a few things. The current increase in malaria funding from government donors has created a window of opportunity for private donors to leverage their donations for major impact. Rapid scale-up of malaria programs will lead to substantial cost savings, and investing right now could save twice as many lives for every dollar spent. It recommends taking a systems approach; looking at all factors that affect the health of a community.

They also recommend entry points for philanthropists, with examples of each type. The entry points include training community members and equipping them with kits of effective drugs, piggybacking on existing delivery systems to distribute bednets, supporting innovation for new tools like vaccines and mosquito control, and supporting information networks to track epidemics.

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Author

Alanna Shaikh has spent the last ten years immersed in global health; she has worked for NGOs, companies, universities, and the US government on projects that ranged from preventing antibacterial resistance to improving maternal and child health.