After an unprecedented period of success in global malaria control, progress has stalled. According to the 2018 WHO World Malaria Report, data from 2015–2017 highlight that no significant progress in reducing global malaria cases was made in this period. In 2017 alone, there were 219 million new cases of malaria worldwide and an estimated 435,000 malaria deaths – 92% of which were in Africa.

The World Health Organization has set a target to cut malaria cases and deaths by at least 90% by 2030. This will take teamwork. In 2015, Comic Relief and GSK joined forces in a five-year partnership to help strengthen health systems’ ability to fight malaria and improve people’s health in five malaria endemic countries.

This Partnership – created through a £17 million donation from GSK and £5 million from Comic Relief – provides targeted grants to organisations tackling malaria on the frontline in Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and the Greater Mekong Sub Region.

These grants, made and managed by Comic Relief, complement national malaria control programmes and help ensure people access prevention, diagnosis, and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

Beyond grant making, the partnership aims to inspire global action on malaria by sharing compelling stories that of impact and empowering a generation of advocates.

This partnership builds on GSK’s longstanding commitment to fighting malaria on all fronts – from researching medicines and vaccines, to supporting community prevention and education efforts.