Honourable Mr President and heads of governments,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you, your Excellency, for this extra-ordinary initiative - for bringing us together, to focus on health and development.

Before I became Director General of WHO in 1998 Africa's leaders told me that malaria undermines the development of their people. I was asked, several times, why the suffering and poverty caused by malaria was so often overlooked in development dialogue. I resolved that WHO should do much more to support Africa's efforts to control malaria.

Mr President

Professor Jeffrey Sachs has just presented to us his report on the economic effects of malaria. As I listened to him, I was struck by the enormity of the damage caused by this ancient disease. A loss of economic growth of more than one percentage point per year. A 20% reduction in GNP after 15 years. Short term benefits from malaria control of up to $12 billion each year. These are staggering numbers.

I conclude that Malaria is taking a big bite out of Africa's economic growth. For every year that malaria is left unchecked, it will cause African nations to fall further behind the rest of the world. But malaria is not just an African issue. Malaria and its economic impact threaten our stability as a global community and threaten the future of our increasingly global economy.

I do not accept a future with ever widening differences in the growth of nations. Together we must fight for a future free from the burdens of malaria

• If we can control malaria, we will see an acceleration of Africa's development
• If malarious areas are free of the disease, family incomes will rise
• If there is less malaria in homes, school attendance will increase - sometimes dramatically.

At yesterday's technical meeting, Africa's scientists told us of the tools needed to roll back this cause of suffering and poverty, to banish this obstacle to economic growth.

• Insecticide treated nets in the home reduce transmission and prevent infection.
• Indoor spraying with safe insecticides prevents infection.
• Treatment during pregnancy protects the mother's health and improves birth weight.
• Rapid diagnosis and early treatment of someone with malaria shorten the illness and reduce death rates.

These interventions appear simple. Ensuring their success is not. To be effective they must reach all at risk.

In many countries malaria has been a fact of life and death for so long that individuals, families, communities and institutions tolerate its burden. Outspoken commitment, vision and energy are essential to overcome this sense of fatalism and resignation surrounding malaria.

Your excellencies:

I am delighted that you have come here today to turn the tide.

Over the last two years, your Governments have joined forces with the WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, with development agencies, research groups, non -governmental organisations and private corporations in starting to build a powerful movement. This is the movement to Roll Back Malaria. The spearhead for this movement is in Africa.

In more than 20 countries, malaria is now being tackled through all branches of government and with increasing involvement of the private sector.

However, much more remains to be done.

Malaria needs a high profile throughout African society. Everyone needs to realise the full impact of this disease, to agree on the goals, and to know how they can be realised in different settings.

We - the partners supporting the Roll Back Malaria Movement - must continue to support applied research to identify and apply the best anti-malaria therapies. This will help to counter the development of drug resistance. We need to find better ways to improve access to drugs, and to prevent counterfeiting. We need to work together to review taxes and tariffs on mosquito nets and other commodities. We need to coordinate the many contributions –financial and technical— of the Roll Back Malaria partners at country level. And, most importantly, we need to monitor achievements.

We need to involve the parts of the private sector that can help get goods and services to people. It has the distribution networks, the communications skill and the marketing resources. We would like private entities to be true partners in the movement. Several are already involved in the Medicines for Malaria venture.

In all this work, we count on you, the Heads of State and Governments, to lead us, so that we work together effectively in Rolling Back Malaria.

Mr President,

The turn of the century coincides with a remarkable shift in thinking about human development. I sense a growing realisation among decision-makers that to reduce poverty we must improve health. Illness - particularly malaria - keeps Africa's people and their nations poor. Bad health locks people into poverty. Healthy populations have better school attendance, higher incomes and more rapid economic development.

I anticipate that today we will agree an approach on rolling back malaria that also applies whether we are tackling tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, maternal ill-health, tobacco-related ill-health or other priority problems. It means:

• Information campaigns, to increase knowledge and understanding and empower people to act to improve their health
• Access to essential drugs, vaccines, and other commodities;
• Effective health services - close to the home; and
• A healthy environment - with clean water and sanitation

It certainly includes actions within communities, responsive to the needs of poor people, supported by all sectors of society.

We partners are working together to mobilise large increases in resources for health, to reduce the prices of drugs and commodities, to minimise tariffs and taxes on these goods, to support the discovery and development of effective drugs and vaccines, and to back-up effective action at country level.. These are all concrete and target-oriented actions. They bring results.

Mr President:

Your vision has brought us here today, to focus on malaria. But I am sure you would agree that poverty is our real enemy.

We now have an extraordinary window of opportunity.

We have Governments, international organizations, NGOs and the private sector ready to work together to achieve agreed health goals, and so contribute to prosperity.

We have a potential for dramatic increases in resources for health.

That means, the number of malaria deaths can be halved within ten years.

There will be further health gains. This summit will help us move forward.

The impact will be extraordinary. Africa will have stronger health systems, healthier populations and faster-growing economies.

Thank you.