World men’s marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge and two-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon have joined a cast of international changemakers seeking to sustain the pressure in the fight against malaria.
The two Kenyan track stars joined their fellow change-makers on Friday in launching the second phase of the campaign dubbed Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign.
The Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign is part of the Zero Malaria Starts With Me (ZMSWM) movement which was launched in Kenya on 31st October 2020 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Malaria Youth Army, also launched by H.E. President Kenyatta in July 2021, has utilized the campaign to demand scaled up action in their communities, and countries across the world, to end malaria.
Kipchoge and Faith role in the campaign
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the first athlete to run a marathon under two hours together with 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic 1,500m women’s champion Faith Kipyegon are hopeful their act will translate to increased awareness on the need to trim back and cut Malaria.
“In the past, suffering from malaria has stopped me from running. Today, over 1000 children in Africa will die from the disease. Malaria is stealing their futures. But this is a human problem that we can solve because despite the challenges no human is limited. We are calling on leaders to recommit to ending malaria at the Kigali Summit and later this year at the Global Fund Replenishment conference by contributing at least $18bn to achieve zero malaria within a generation,” said Eliud Kipchoge, Zero Malaria Ambassador and member of the MNM UK Leadership Council.
“I’m proud to join this incredible campaign because I want to see an end to malaria, a disease of deep injustice particularly as it affects the world’s poorest people, especially women and girls. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was so careful to protect myself including making sure I slept under a mosquito net because one in three expectant mothers suffer from malaria in sub–Saharan Africa. Now my daughter is three, she is the light of my life! My mission is to keep her safe. We sleep under a mosquito net and we see great tools now becoming available like celebrating the world’s first malaria vaccine trialed in Kenya. This gives me great hope – I want my daughter to grow up and see the day when we have zero malaria in Kenya,” remarked Faith Kipyegon – Zero Malaria Ambassador.
The next phase of the campaign aims to turn up the pressure on world leaders to commit to ending malaria at the Kigali Summit on Malaria & NTDs in June and invest funds totaling US$18 billion at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in New York in September.
“The World Health Organization welcomes a new host of scientists, youth, and champions to join the malaria fight at a crucial time when progress against the disease is lagging. Draw The Line provides a platform for Africa’s most powerful narrators to change this trajectory, disrupt political apathy, and lead the fight to end this treatable and preventable disease which kills a child nearly every minute,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Accounting for over half of global funding to end malaria, a fully replenished Global Fund is projected to enable countries and partners to reduce malaria deaths by 62%, treat 550 million malaria cases, and eliminate malaria from six more countries by 2026, as well as unlock the potential of a Zero Malaria world, helping to strengthen equitable health systems and improve the lives and futures of millions of people.
