Tackling Malaria makes good business sense

27 July 2006 - Geneva, Switzerland

Fighting malaria is good for business, governments and the community, highlights a report launched today entitled Business and Malaria: A Neglected Threat by the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the World Economic Forum. The report, the largest, most comprehensive ever on the impact of malaria on business, states that Sub-Saharan African businesses are highly likely to be affected by malaria, with a staggering 72% reporting a current effect from malaria, and 39% reporting serious impacts to their business.

According to the report, which surveyed over 8,000 business leaders worldwide across 100 countries, the global business community is becoming increasingly concerned over the threat of malaria, which costs Sub-Saharan Africa 0.6% of its GDP, with one malaria episode costing up to ten working days in terms of lost labour.

In response to these growing concerns, the GHI is launching a set of guidelines – Guidelines for Employer-Based Malaria Control Programmes– to encourage and assist businesses in Africa to take a more proactive role in the fight against malaria by setting up workplace based schemes.

“Malaria is crippling the people of Africa, and the businesses that employ them. These guidelines provide concrete tools for empowering businesses to form an effective response against this treatable, preventable disease,” said Francesca Boldrini, Director of the Global Health Initiative at the World Economic Forum. With 72% of African firms believing that malaria eradication would increase efficiency and productivity, the guidelines will be a critical tool designed to help businesses implement effective malaria control activities.

“Businesses have very strong competencies in areas that are crucial for effective malaria control,” comments Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Secretary of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. “These guidelines are an excellent tool to help translate those competencies into positive results – both for fighting malaria, as well as for improving the business environment in Africa.”

Currently, governments undertake a large portion of malaria control efforts. However, many governments lack the resources for effective prevention and treatment, creating a need for greater private sector involvement. Recognition of malaria as a serious workplace issue is vital to the long-term productivity and efficiency of African businesses, which ultimately impacts the health and prosperity of the wider continent.

To download a copy of the “Guidelines for Employer-Based Malaria Control Programmes”, please visit : http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Malaria.pdf

To download a copy of the full report, please visit http://www.weforum.org/pdf/MalariaReport.pdf

Note to Editors:

Case study
Examples of workplace based schemes show that these programmes save lives, improve social environments, save money and increase productivity for business. One such example is the BHP Billiton programme in Lubombo.In 2000, BHP Billiton joined the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI) – an innovative cross-border public-private sector partnership focused on reducing the malaria burden in this area.

The partnership has enjoyed phenomenal success. To date, the LSDI has completed spraying in a region that spans 100,000 square kilometres, resulting in the protection of approximately 4.7 million people. Spraying and effective treatment efforts have resulted in reducing the incidence of malaria by nearly 80% across the region.

About the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the World Economic Forum
The GHI provides a unique platform for catalysing public-private partnerships in health and driving action on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria at the regional, national and international levels. To achieve this goal, the GHI works closely with the World Economic Forum’s member and partner companies as well as UNAIDS, the boards of the Global Fund and the Global Partnership along with the World Health Organization’s Stop TB and Roll Back Malaria partnerships. In addition to these, the GHI successfully engages with a broad range of NGOs and other members of civil society, as well as governments from across the world, effectively stimulating public-private dialogue in world health.
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