Obstacles 5: Political roadblocks and funding gaps
Discussion of roadblocks would be incomplete without considering the
political dimension. Although malaria has a reasonable global profile in
comparison with the “neglected tropical diseases” it is often low in
National Health priorities, particularly in Asia and the Americas where
it is predominantly a disease of the poor or marginalized. Much of the
funding for malaria control comes from International Agencies such as
the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) and the
President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) or from bilateral donors. Whereas
the world was doing very well in reducing malaria morbidity and
mortality in the decade between 2005 and 2015, the total number of
malaria cases has increased steadily since then (50). There has been no
in-depth analysis to explain this reversal, and no clear evidence that
providing more funding without reforms will reverse this trend.