LIVERPOOL today became the centre of a final, global push to eradicate malaria, with Bill Gates and George Osborne here to inject a £3 billion, proverbial shot in the arm to fight the killer disease.
The two were at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine declaring that deaths from malaria could be nearly eliminated in the next 15 years, helped today’s massve funding commitment.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer saw the visit as yet another opportunity to promote his Northern Powerhouse hobbyhorse, standing alongside the mega rich Microsoft founder, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The real stars of the show were Professor Janet Hemingway and her team at the Trop.
Prof Hemingway, who is director at LSTM, said at the gathering: “As the world’s oldest tropical medical institution dedicated to improving health, LSTM is delighted to see the growing partnership between the UK government and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, providing leadership and support to the fight against the global health challenges of malaria and NTDs.
Misery
“These diseases are indicators and drivers of poverty, and this partnership will help increase know-how, advocacy and funding, making a significant contribution to rapidly reduce the disease burden imposed by these infectious diseases and improve the quality of life for many of the world’s poorest populations.”
Osborne said: “I am determined that our overseas aid budget is spent on the challenges people in Britain want to see addressed - and those that threaten global and national security.
“Across the globe over a billion people are infected with malaria and it’s a cause of both untold misery and lost economic potential.
"That’s why, working with Bill Gates, I’m determined that Britain leads the world in the fight against this disease.
"The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is the oldest such institution in the world and is at the cutting edge of the war against malaria."
Next stop TJ's: LSTM Director Professor Janet Hemingway CBE meets Bill Gates and Chancellor George Osborne today at the Trop Shop. Picture: Mark McNultyGates commented: "Britain is a global leader in the fight against deadly diseases like malaria – a disease that still claims the life of a child every minute.
"From the strength of its scientific community, to the bravery of the ordinary men and women who go out to fight these diseases, the UK’s commitment to global health is building healthier futures for people living in the world’s poorest places and making the world a safer place for all of us."
Secretary of State for Overseas Development Justine Greening, who was also in Liverpool today, said: "Malaria still causes one out of ten child deaths in Africa and costs Africa’s economy billions every year. Our new commitment will save countless more lives and build a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for us all which is firmly in the UK’s national interest."
The funding announced today will mean £500 million a year invested by the UK government for the next five years.
The Gates Foundation will spend $200 million in 2016 to support research and development for malaria and to accelerate regional malaria elimination efforts, with a similar amount over each of the following four years.
Together this amounts to a minimum £3 billion commitment from the two partners to support global efforts to fight malaria.
The announcement builds on the new £1 billion Ross Fund announced by the government and the Gates Foundation in November – named after Sir Ronald Ross, the first-ever British Nobel Laureate who was recognised for his discovery that mosquitoes transmit malaria.
The LSTM was established in 1898 as the first institution in the world dedicated to research and teaching in tropical medicine. Its massive research portfolio is already assisted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
