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.