Ask the Coordinator - Feb/March 2007
E-Mail Your Questions about PMI or other malaria programs directly to Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, at askthemalariacoordinator@usaid.gov.
Question:
Dear Coordinator Ziemer,
Hello. I am doing some research on the malaria initiative and was wondering if the funding you all provide has any conditions that go along with it, such as good governance goals, human rights objectives, etc. Do the recipient countries have to meet such requirements or is the funding based solely on need?
Thank you,
Margaret Whipple
Answer:
Dear Margaret,
Thank you for your e-mail. The PMI is an historic $1.2 billion initiative, aimed at reducing malaria by 50 percent in 15 target African countries. The goal of PMI is to assist national malaria control programs to cut malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 target countries in Africa. This goal will be achieved by reaching 85 percent of the most vulnerable groups – children under five years of age and pregnant women – with proven and effective prevention and treatment control measures.
Countries were selected based on the burden of malaria, sound national malaria control programs, and interest on the part of the host country, among others.
With regard to your question on whether or not good governance or human rights objectives are considered, the answer is absolutely.
USAID's five primary objectives – to achieve peace and security; improve governance and democratic participation; promote investments in people; and engender economic growth – address the institutional incapacity that prevents many countries in the developing world from meeting the needs of their people and are designed to foster long-term development and empowerment of the poor.
As the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, Ambassador Randall Tobias said, “Transformational diplomacy derives from the conviction that for foreign assistance to engender lasting economic, social, and political progress, it must aim to transform institutions, economic structures, and human capacity, so that nations can sustain further economic and social progress on their own.
“For the first time in our nation's history, all U.S. foreign assistance is now being applied to the achievement of a single overarching goal – the goal Secretary Rice has articulated as transformational diplomacy: ‘Helping to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.’
“And therefore, a fundamental purpose of this reform is, in the end, to better ensure that we are providing both the necessary tools and the right incentives for host governments to secure the conditions for their citizens to achieve their full human potential.”
To read more about good governance goals and the U.S. role in economic assistance in Africa, I encourage you to visit the USAID Web site.
I hope that the information that I gathered for you was helpful. If you have any further questions about the President's Malaria Initiative, please do not hesitate to e-mail me directly at askthemalariacoordinator@usaid.gov.
Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer
Malaria Coordinator
President’s Malaria Initiative
askthemalariacoordinator@usaid.gov
