African Union Remarks

Ray Chambers: Presidents, Prime Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first thank our gracious hosts, President Mubarak and the people of Egypt, for their warm welcome and kind hospitality.  I also want to express my gratitude to the Chairperson of the African Union, President  Kikwete, and to the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mr. Jean Ping, for their extraordinary leadership at a critical time for the continent of Africa.  I am honored to be here . 

I’m a businessman, philanthropist but was drawn to malaria because I simply could not stand to see another child dying needlessly from a completely preventable disease.

I believe that over 50 million children have died from malaria and I believe that more than 3 million children died last year.

You just heard the economic costs to the African continent.  Jeff Sachs and I agree that the real costs exceeds $100b a year from the perspective that when you factor in lost opportunity costs on a compounded basis,  Africa’s  real economic pain from malaria could exceed  $100 billion each year.

But I have a bold prediction.  That the 3 billion deaths last year will be almost no deaths in 5 years.  I believe we’ll cover the Secretary-General’s call to action earlier this year to cover all people at risk of malaria with ITNs, IRS, and treatment in public health facilities by Dec 31, 2010.  I believe we’ll raise $5b over the next 2.5 years to fund all your national malaria programs. The Global Fund has committed to two rounds of funding this year instead of one.  The World Bank is expected to commit $1b to its phase2 booster.  The EU last week committed to providing 75m nets.  And Gordon Brown has committed to 20m nets. And there’s a bill in the US Congress for an additional $5billion over 5 years for malaria.

This is an unprecedented opportunity, and we need a unique global partnership with all of you.  We now need you to ask all these funders, the Global Fund, the G8, the World Bank, to give you the maximum dollars possible to fund the plans.  You have responded well.  17 African countries have submitted applications this morning to Round 8 of the Global Fund for a total in excess of $2.5 billion.  [You should] encourage your health ministries to go for the most ambitions and comprehensive malaria control plans.

Some of you have shared your visions and dreams with me on malaria.  I look forward to the day when we see your dreams realized.  Where mothers do not fear their children don’t live past 5 because of malaria.  Where there’s no absenteeism from work due to malaria and investors line up to invest in your countries.  And where malaria is the first MDG to be achieved.  If that happens, it portends great things for other diseases. 

That it’ll help with breaking through a barrier, much like for centuries, runners and athletes all over the world tried to break through the four minute mile barrier.  A scientist, Roger Banister finally broke through the barrier in 1954 at 3 minutes and 59 seconds, and then all over the world many other runners were able to also do it later that year and now it is routine.  I envision what we’ll do with malaria over the next several years, is tantamount o breaking through that barrier.  This will allow HIV/AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, the food shortage, to follow suit.

The Secretary General, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and I believe in you and your dreams and we will do everything in our power to help you achieve them.

Thank you.