ANTANANARIVO – Each day, one hundred Malagasy children die from common and preventable diseases, and ten Malagasy women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications. More than two million people in Madagascar are sickened by malaria each year.
From September 27-29, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), convened more than 300 doctors, researchers, and public health actors from Madagascar and around the world in Antananarivo to seek solutions to improve maternal and child health care and promote evidence-based decision making throughout the Malagasy health care system.
“This exchange provides an opportunity to build together a more resilient health system in Madagascar,” USAID Mission Director Anne Williams said in her welcoming remarks. “We are connecting researchers with policy makers and stakeholders at all levels of the health system.”
Key collaborators included the Ministry of Public Health’s Directorate of Family Health, the National Malaria Control Program, Roll Back Malaria partners, the H6 Partnership, and public health institutes and universities from across the country.
The conference fostered better relationships among actors at all levels of the health system. Participants agreed that strengthening maternal and child health care services will significantly reduce the deaths of mothers and children, and that more fully integrated service delivery will reduce incidence and severity of malaria nationwide.
Through USAID, the United States supports Madagascar’s efforts to reduce child mortality, boost family planning, and control malaria. The U.S. government is also the largest contributor to The Global Fund, which provides substantial support to malaria control efforts.
The United States stands side-by-side with Madagascar like ‘mpirahalahy mianala’ to improve the health and well-being of the Malagasy people. It is the largest bilateral donor to Madagascar’s health sector, allocating more than $440 million since 2015.