Mobilising4Malaria Case Study: African Coalitions Against Malaria

This four-page case study was prepared by Mobilising for Malaria (M4M), a three-year (2006-09) Malaria Consortium advocacy programme supported by GlaxoSmithKline’s African Malaria Partnership that aimed to raise awareness of Malaria in Africa by supporting civil society and the media.

The case study states that malaria remains one of the biggest killers of African children under the age of 5 and that pregnant women are also highly vulnerable. It further states that some Ministries of Health spend nearly half their budgets on tackling the disease and that it is civil society in endemic countries that often has the most powerful influence on the drive to eliminate malaria. And that some solutions are simple, low-cost, long-lasting insecticidal nets and artemisinin combination therapy (ACT).

The M4M case study states that raising public and political awareness, building local and national coalition movements, and engaging community groups can lead to real progress achieved with greater speed. M4M established National Coalitions Against Malaria in collaboration with National Malaria Control Programmes, Roll-Back Malaria Regional Networks, and other coordination bodies in several African countries with the aim of raising awareness of malaria through supporting civil society and the media.

The M4M case study details the advocacy and awareness raising models undertaken in three African countries: Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Mozambique.

In Ethiopia, the strategic emphasis was on heightening public and media awareness through the establishment in 2006 of the Coalition Against Malaria in Ethiopia (CAME). The Coalition comprised 70 organisations working collectively on malaria as well as with the private sector and with networks of people living with HIV/AIDS. Their activities focused on building the capacity of members for efficient malaria advocacy through the establishment of a resource centre and a Coalition of Media Against Malaria (CMAME) to build the media’s capacity to report on malaria. A future goal of the Coalition is to engage Ministers of Parliament (MPs) to create a pool of malaria ambassadors and champions.

In Cameroon, M4M established the Cameroon Coalition Against Malaria (CCAM), comprising 70 member organisations, including bilateral donors and United Nations (UN) agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations, and community- and faith-based organisations, in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme. CCAM members incorporated malaria into their work on other developmental issues such as HIV/AIDS, education, and sanitation. In addition, they trained their members on malaria advocacy, trained and supported journalists, and worked with parliamentarians as malaria champions within the government.

In Mozambique, the M4M model was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also saw the establishment of a coalition of over 30 national and international non-governmental organisations, many of which comprised networks of national civil society groups. As the primary work of most coalition member organisations focused on combating HIV/AIDS and in social mobilisation, the first step was to engage them in the fight against malaria. This was achieved through workshops, debates, presentations, and training workshops, as well as the establishment of a national award for media professionals.

Some of the lessons learnt cited in this M4M case study:

• Inclusive National Coalitions Against Malaria are successful vehicles for advancing comprehensive malaria advocacy.
• The creation of media coalitions is highly effective in increased media coverage.
• Resource centres or local knowledge pools in malaria-endemic countries are essential for advocacy that is nationally and locally relevant.
• Active engagement of HIV/AIDS organisations must continue in order to broaden the base of the fight against malaria.

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