The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah, has, by Proclamation, declared Tuesday, April 25, 2023 as “World Malaria Day”, and is to be observed throughout the Republic as a working holiday.
According to the Proclamation, April 25, 2023 is the 15th World Malaria Day, which is being celebrated under the global theme, “Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, implement”, and a national slogan, “Zero Malaria Starts With Me”.
According to the Foreign Ministry release, the government of the Republic of Liberia, realizing the significance of protecting the well-being of its citizens and foreign residents, has ratified the Convention on the Right of the Child to good health and nutrition and, as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO), will join other global health partners in supporting all health programs to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
President Weah has requested the Ministry of Health and other government agencies, as well as international organizations concerned to initiate and execute programs to make the occasion meaningful.
The Presidential Proclamation said in Liberia all causes of under-five mortality rate has declined from 94 per 1,000 live births in 2013 to 93 per 1,000 live births in 2019, hospital admissions for severe Malaria has declined from 5% in 2016 to 3% in 2020 and the government’s annual expenditure on health has remained steady in the range of 10 to 14% over the past 10 years, in fulfillment of the Abuja Declaration that calls for members states to allocate 15% of national budget to health.
The Proclamation further states that in Africa malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade, and outside of Africa 35 out of the 53 countries’ malaria control interventions have reduced cases by 50 percent, and in the same period countries where access to malaria-control interventions have improved most significantly overall child mortality rates have fallen by approximately 20 percent.
The President further said in his Proclamation that continued investment in malaria control will propel malaria-endemic countries along the path to achieving the targets of Global Malaria Technical Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those relating to improving child survival and maternal health, eradicating extreme poverty and expanding access to education.
Cognizant of the harmful effects and burden malaria poses on the human race, particularly in Africa, a resolution declaring April 25 of each year as Africa Malaria Day, amended as World Malaria Day, was adopted by the Summit of African Heads of States and Government held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1997, which called on Members States of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU) to initiate and implement plans of actions that would curtail malaria and malaria-related mortality in Africa.