File:Guinean women work to control malaria (6188936433).jpg

A team representing the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), which is a program led by USAID and implemented together with the U.S. Center for Disease Control, participated in a stakeholders’ meeting in Conakry, Guinea. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Younoussa Balo, presided over the meeting which was attended by 65 representatives from government, NGOs, the donor and health communities, and the private commercial sector. Participants watched presentations on the PMI initiative, the malaria status from Guinea’s National Malaria Control Program, and the program designed by the PMI team to fight against malaria. Many participants complimented the Ministry organizers for bringing together interested parties to share ideas and perspectives and tackle the malaria problem quickly and effectively. The PMI team was pleased to announce the urgent shipment of anti-malarial medications in line with the Ministry of Health’s priorities. Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Guinea. In 2009, the number of malaria cases recorded amongst children under-5 was well over 300,000, with a sobering fatality rate of nearly one in three. Dr. Abdul Habib Beavogui, a parasite specialist at the training and research center in Maferinyah commented, “I am very pleased that PMI supports my country to fight against malaria in Guinea, which is the disease that kills most people.”