VIDEO | Fight against malaria, Ciani (Demos): “Working together with Africa”

The president of the Chamber of Deputies of the bilateral section talks with colleagues from Senegal and Benin

ROME – “Starting to understand what we can do together”: Paolo Ciani, president of the bilateral Italy-Africa friendship section in the Chamber of Deputies, summarizes with these words the commitment made during a discussion with parliamentarians from Senegal and Benin western. A reflection, his, shared at the end of today’s meeting, in the Busti room at Palazzo Montecitorio, in the presence and at the same time in connection with Dakar, Porto-Novo and also Geneva. “Malaria in West Africa: challenges, innovations and opportunities for collaborative action” is the title of the discussion, moderated by the Dire agency. A space for dialogue with experts such as Stefano Vella, professor of the Catholic University and vice-president of the organization Friends of the Global Funds Europe, Francesca Maremonti, researcher of the Institute for International Affairs (IAI), Pietro Alano, of the Higher Institute of Health, Francoise Vanni, director of external relations of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and Eduard Molnar, representative of the Gavi alliance.

And yet in the foreground are listening and dialogue with West African deputies. Participating is the Senegalese parliamentarian Abdou Mbow and then his compatriot Julie Zingan, leading a task force for the mobilization of resources to protect public health. Also speaking is Ake Natonde, from Benin, president of a parliamentary commission that deals with education and at the same time the right to prevention and healthcare. “We wanted to inaugurate this bilateral section of Italy-West Africa friendship not in a formal way but by immediately addressing one of the important and current issues, which is that of the fight against malaria” Ciani stated in an interview with the Dire agency. “We know that this is an enormous challenge for the region and for many countries in the South of the world in general; we also know that there is a lot of news, with the age-old topic of vaccines but also that of climate change, which concerns everyone and which has an impact on the spread of malaria”.

During the meeting it was recalled that the World Health Organization (WHO) has set the goal for 2030 to reduce mortality cases due to the disease by 90 percent. The direction, however, is not the right one. According to a study carried out by the IAI together with Friends of the Global Fund Europe, the number of deaths has increased from 2019 onwards. There have been more than 627 thousand deaths with 249 million infections in 2022. In 19 out of 20 cases the Anopheles mosquito parasite affects Africa and in almost one in four cases Nigeria, the most populous country in West Africa. During the meeting it was highlighted that there are now 15 countries on the continent determined to include new vaccines in their national strategies. “We must work together, collaborating as parliaments and also seizing the opportunities offered by the Italian presidency of the G7” underlines Zingan. His appeal is shared by colleagues and today it is also heard in Rome.