GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Comic Relief have entered a five-year partnership to fight malaria and strengthen health systems in the five countries worst affected by the disease.
Malaria is a disease that kills almost half a million people every year, mostly in children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The alliance will support World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) aim to reduce malaria case incidence and mortality rates by 90% over the next 15 years.
A fund created by contributions of £17m from GSK and £5m from Comic Relief will provide targeted grants to organisations on the frontline tackling the disease in malaria endemic Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and the Greater Mekong region.
Comic Relief chief executive Kevin Cahill said: "This partnership with GSK is built on a joint desire to make a real and lasting difference to the health of people across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
"The tragedy of malaria is that it is a disease that is both preventable and curable, but still kills nearly half a million people every year."
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By GlobalDataIssued and managed by the charity, the grants will complement current malaria programmes and help build sustainable ways to ensure people can access diagnosis and prevention at the right time and in the right place.
The grants will be guided by a London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine study, which is determining how the partnership can best complement and enhance access to healthcare provision and current malaria interventions.
Full results from the study will be available early next year, with the first decisions on grants made later in 2016.
The WHO strategy focuses on strengthening global and national programmes to control malaria and increase access to diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
GSK Africa and Developing Countries vice-president Ramil Burden said: "We are hugely excited to step up our fight against malaria in collaboration with Comic Relief.
"Our partnership will support global efforts aimed at trying to reduce the burden of malaria by 90% by 2030. Not only will this help unlock human and economic potential, but it will also provide a springboard for managing other current and future health challenges."
Image: GlaxoSmithKline headquaters in Brentford, London, England. Photo: courtesy of Maxwell Hamilton.
