Global subsidy plan could improve access to effective malaria drugs, leading NGO says

A multimillion dollar global subsidy plan could radically improve access to more effective malaria drugs and help save lives across Africa, a leading international anti-malaria organization told African Union health ministers Thursday.

The Roll Back Malaria Partnership hopes to launch the US$250 million to US$300 million (euro185 million to euro222 million) plan early next year. It would be used to subsidize the price of the newest malaria medicines _ artemisinin-based combination therapy, or ACT, and aims to see a 300 percent improvement in access to the treatment.

Funds would come from both the private and public sectors, as well as from donors, the group said.

Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the organization, said several donors and funding institutions have given initial support for the plan, which was presented to African Union ministers holding a four-day conference in Johannesburg.

"It was clear from the meetings with the ministers that this is something that they would like a lot. It would help them with planning and budgeting," she said.

Malaria, a preventable and curable disease, is one of Africa's biggest killers with over 90 percent of the world's 1 million deaths occurring on the continent.

ACT is one of the most expensive malaria drugs, costing up to US$8 (nearly euro6) a dose. The global funds would make the drug, which costs US$1 to manufacturer, available to buyers for 10 US cents, said the organization, which was launched in 1998 by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank.

"Even though the price of new medicines has come down it is still too expensive for Africa," said Dr. David Mwakyusa, Tanzanian Minister of Health and Social Welfare. "We need to find sustainable solutions to raise new money to make medicine available and affordable to the poor through both the private and public sectors."

ACT replaces the cheaper chloroquine, which has become increasingly ineffective as more resistance to it develops.

Introduced in 2004, ACT is now being used by 60 percent of the public sector but this only makes up 20 percent of all malaria treatment in countries where the disease is endemic. Nearly 80 percent of malaria medicines reach patients through pharmacies and other outlets where prices of the drug can be up to 20 times those of chloroquine.

Brad Herbert, a consultant on the subsidy plan, said there would be a cap on the retail price of the treatment.

He said 90 million doses of ACT were being used at the moment and that it was hoped this would increase to 300 million two years after the proposed subsidy was implemented.

"It is a new financing mechanism that could be a paradigm shift for the distribution of such commodities. I hope it is the first of many," he said.