UK provides 7.4 million euros to make malaria drugs, test kits accessible to all

The UK Government has provided 7.4 million euros support to Med Access to be used to negotiate lower prices for vital malaria drugs and diagnostic tests for people infected in countries around the world.

The intervention is expected to improve access to malaria drugs and help tackle one of the biggest killers of children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The announcement was made on World Malaria Day, which aims to keep the malaria disease high on the political agenda, mobilise additional resources, and empower communities.

A press statement issued by the UK Embassy and made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday said more than 600,000 people worldwide die every year from malaria, which is preventable and treatable.

It said the funding brought the UK’s support to Med Access to a total of £17.4 million, which would give one million people access to new diagnostic tests and 120 million patients access to anti-malarial treatments.

In three years, it is expected that more than 50 million people will have access to drugs and other items through this support.

The statement said the world needed to ensure that malaria drugs were available at the best price to countries that needed them the most.

It said deaths from malaria were entirely preventable and that the UK’s support for Med Access would ensure that countries could afford to offer people the best protection against the disease.

The statement said Sierra Leone, Liberia and Benin would begin their first rollout of the UK-Indian developed RTS, S vaccine, marking a significant milestone in ending malaria.

The vaccine has been used in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, with two million children vaccinated since 2019, in January Cameroon became the first country to give the vaccines to children routinely.

According to the statement, a total of 22 countries were due to roll out the vaccine and Gavi, funded by the UK, was aiming to immunise more than six million children against malaria by the end of 2025.

It said Med Access would continue to use innovative financial tools to reduce the cost of diagnosis, prevention and treatment, improving value for money and patient access.