I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
When it was launched in 2005, the goal of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) was to reduce malaria-related mortality by 50 percent across 15 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa through a rapid scale-up of four proven and highly effective malaria prevention and treatment measures: insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs); indoor residual spraying (IRS); accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs); and intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women (IPTp). With the passage of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act in 2008, PMI developed a U.S. Government Malaria Strategy for 2009-2014. This strategy included a long-term vision for malaria control in which sustained high coverage with malaria prevention and treatment interventions would progressively lead to malariafree zones in Africa, with the ultimate goal of worldwide malaria eradication by 2040-2050. Consistent with this strategy and the increase in annual appropriations supporting PMI, four new sub-Saharan African countries and one regional program in the Greater Mekong Subregion of Southeast Asia were added in 2011. The contributions of PMI, together with those of other partners, have led to dramatic improvements in the coverage of malaria control interventions in PMI-supported countries, and all 15 original countries have documented substantial declines in all-cause mortality rates among children under five years of age.
In 2015, PMI launched its next six-year strategy, setting forth a bold and ambitious goal and objectives. The PMI Strategy for 2015-2020 takes into account the progress over the past decade and the new challenges that have arisen. Malaria prevention and control remains a major U.S. foreign assistance objective and PMI’s strategy fully aligns with the U.S. Government’s vision of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and ending extreme poverty. It is also in line with the goals articulated in the RBM Partnership’s second-generation global malaria action plan, Action and Investment to defeat Malaria 2016-2030: for a Malaria-Free World and the World Health Organization’s updated Global Technical Strategy: 2016-2030. Under the PMI Strategy 2015-2020, the U.S. Government’s goal is to work with PMI-supported countries and partners to further reduce malaria deaths and substantially decrease malaria morbidity, towards the long-term goal of elimination.
In 2017, consistent with an increase in annual appropriations, PMI again launched new country programs in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, and Sierra Leone, and expanded an existing program in Burkina Faso to PMI focus country status. With the addition of these new focus countries, PMI now has programs in 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to two bilateral programs and targeted support in the Greater Mekong Subregion in Asia.
Burkina Faso began implementation as a PMI focus country in FY 2017.
This FY 2019 Malaria Operational Plan presents a detailed implementation plan for Burkina Faso, based on the strategies of PMI and the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP). It was developed in consultation with the NMCP and with the participation of national and international partners involved in malaria prevention and control in the country. The activities that PMI is proposing to support fit in well with the national malaria control strategy and plan and build on investments made by PMI and other partners to improve and expand malaria-related services, including malaria grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This document briefly reviews the current status of malaria control policies and interventions in Burkina Faso, describes progress to date, identifies challenges and unmet needs to achieving the targets of the NMCP and PMI, and provides a description of activities that are planned with FY 2019 funding.