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Global health partners gather in New York to honour the Global Fund
23 September 2009, New York, USA
 A crowd of more than 200 people including high-level government representatives from dozens of countries and heads of UN Agencies gathered at a reception to celebrate the millions of lives saved though the support of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The reception was hosted by the the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM), the Stop TB Partnership, UNAIDS and UNITAID.
The assembled dignitaries were greeted by fashion icon and public health advocate Christy Turlington Burns; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chair of the Board of the Global Fund and Minister of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, songstress and public health advocate. Ms Chaka Chaka also treated the guests to a song, delivered a capella.
RBM was represented by the Executive Director Dr Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Stop TB was represented by Dr Lee Reichman, leading champion in the global fight against tuberculosis, on behalf of Executive Secretary Dr Marcos Espinal. UNAIDS and UNITAD were represented respectively by Executive Director Dr Michel Sidibe and Executive Secretary Dr Jorge Bermudez. Dr Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund was in attendance; as were Dr Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB; and Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Malaria.
The event took place amid the flurry of activity related to the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
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African Heads of State unite to ensure UN malaria milestones are met
22 September 2009, New York, USA
 African Heads of State and Government will gather for a landmark event at the United Nations on September 23 to commit their personal prestige and leadership to a campaign of historic ambition: to eliminate nearly all deaths from malaria on their continent by 2015. At the September 23 event, they will launch the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) to provide a mechanism for achieving their goal. The event is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 in the UN Staff Dining Room, 4th floor.
View ALMA Press Release
UNITAID launched a global ‘Thank you' campaign
28 September 2009
UNITAID launched a global 'Thank you' campaign on 28 September to highlight achievements in global health thanks to the steady support of its contributors. The UNITAID "Thank you" campaign will be featured initially on international and national television networks, on the web, in cinemas, in airports and on aeroplanes in the countries that currently support the initiative and beyond. Campaign materials are based on real people's stories in three countries. They feature children who are benefiting from UNITAID-funded HIV/AIDS treatment in an orphanage in Cambodia; a father of two undergoing MDR-TB treatment in Nepal; and a young Zambian family who, until recently, lived under the threat of recurrent bouts of malaria.
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SMS for Life initiative is launched in Tanzania
25 September 2009, UR Tanzania
 "SMS for Life" Project Partners, Novartis, Vodafone, IBM and the Tanzanian National Malaria Control Program meet in Tanzania this week to launch RBM's latest initiative.
The SMS for life initiative is a new 'public-private' project that harnesses everyday technology to eliminate stock-outs and improve access to essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the next 5 weeks more than 150 health workers from the three pilot districts of Lindi Rural, Ulanga and Kigoma Rural will be trained on how to use this new technology.
The overall goal of this project is to make sure that all malaria patients have easy access to the life saving antimalarials, (ACTs - Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies) and Quinine Injectables, when they need them.
If successful, this project could have far-reaching beneficial implications for existing health systems. Stock-outs of any number of essential health commodities could be eliminated and, for the first time ever, there would be visibility, timely tracking and improved management of supplies and prompt delivery to communities.
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RBM Board reviews findings of an independent evaluation
14 September 2009, Annecy, France
 Board members of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) gathered for a two-day-long retreat to review findings of an independent evaluation of the RBM Partnership performance over a 4-year period (2004-2008). The report assessed the effectiveness of the Partnership's current architecture and made recommendations for strengthening specific Partnership's structures to reach the ambitious 2010 and 2015 malaria targets. The report, endorsed by the Board, will be publicly availalable by September 30. The report's recommendations will be reflected in the decision points submitted to the next RBM Board, whose meeting is scheduled for 4 to 5 December 2009.
View agenda
View participants' list
View RBM Independent Evaluation - Final Report
Endemic countries in Central Africa hold RBM Board elections
1 September 2009, Kigali, Rwanda
 At an RBM side event during the 59th WHO Regional Committee for Africa, malaria-endemic countries from Central Africa elected Angola as an RBM Board member and the DRC an Alternate Board Member for a period of 2 years.
Chaired by Cameroon, outgoing RBM Board member for Central Africa, the RBM meeting collected inputs from Angola, Burundi, Cameroun, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Guinea Equatorial, Sao Tomé et Principe on challenges related to achieving the 2010 malaria targets. The eight Central African countries discussed the RBM Partnership structure, objectives and key products, as well as the RBM Board member's role and responsibilities.
African Health Ministers adopted a resolution reaffirming commitment to accelerating control efforts and eliminating malaria in the Africa.
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The Alliance for Malaria Prevention conducted a four-day workshop on mass mosquito net campaign logistics September 7-10 in Nairobi, Kenya. As African countries prepare to scale up nets by the millions to meet the 2010 goal of universal net coverage, partners recognize the importance of providing a forum where individuals engaged in planning and implementing distributions can enhance their logistics skills and share best practices. 40 logisticians representing over 20 African countries completed the training funded by