M Mangena: Launch of South African Malaria Initiative

7 February 2006

Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Prof. Pistorius;
Scientists and researchers;
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

The devastating impact of malaria, especially among the poorer societies in
Africa, is undisputable. Poverty exacerbates and intensifies the spread and
impact of this serious problem in developing countries. Together with other
diseases of poverty, such as tuberculosis, it continues to wreak havoc within
resource poor communities and perpetuate a cycle of malnutrition, low levels of
literacy and economic productivity, because such communities have limited
access to health care and other social services.

Africa remains the region with the highest burden of malaria cases and
deaths in the world and this should be regarded as a call to action. In 2000,
malaria was the cause of death for nearly 20% of children under the age of
five.

At the end of 2004, 3,2 billion people or about 40% of the world’s
population, were living in high risk malarial infection areas. There is an
estimated 350 to 500 million clinical cases of malaria, which result in between
1 and 2 million deaths annually. Some 57% of the world’s clinical malaria cases
occur in Africa. Research has shown that in South Africa more than 99% of
malaria cases also occur in the least developed areas of Limpopo, Mpumalanga
and KwaZulu-Natal. Malaria causes about $12 billion in lost gross domestic
product (GDP) every year and consumes 40% of all public health spending in
Africa.

The growing recognition of the centrality of health to all development is a
positive trend in health policy. More than ever before, there is now a much
wider appreciation of the links between health and development and between
poverty and ill-health. In order to launch a determined attack on both poverty
and ill-health, the need for wide ranging partnerships is imperative.

Recently, the G8 Summit also added its voice to support health issues in its
global agenda. It also promised to go much further in the fight against
infectious and parasitic diseases. Health innovation was also high on the
agenda at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual finance
minister’s meeting to discuss poverty and debt relief.

In his speech at the opening of the Plenary debate on New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Decade to Roll Back Malaria, in October
2005, the president of the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly, Mr Jan
Eliasson, appealed to all who had a role to play to respond positively to the
challenge. This plea was reiterated by the UN General Assembly in a Resolution
of 19 December 2005, which recognised the importance of developing effective
vaccines and new medicines to prevent and treat malaria and the need for
further and accelerated research.

The National Research and Development Strategy mandates the Department of
Science and Technology to develop a robust research and development base for
South Africa to address challenges relating to the improvement of the lives of
our citizens. The high incidence of diseases of poverty compels the South
African research community to utilise its capacity to develop effective
technologies to combat such diseases. In addition, the National Biotechnology
Strategy highlights the important contribution that biotechnology can make in
the area of human health, including the treatment of malaria.

In accordance with these two strategies, a Policy Framework for Science and
Technology Interventions in Health Innovation has been established. This
framework can be seen as a programmatic research and development intervention
for the development of new drugs, vaccines, devices and diagnostics, as well as
new techniques in process engineering and manufacturing.

In partnership with other major players in health research such as the
national and provincial departments of Health, the Medical Research Council and
higher education institutions, we have set aside resources to support research
in the development of new technologies and interventions and the advancement of
basic knowledge of biology and human behaviour.

South Africa has a proud record in scientific research and development and
stands tall on the African continent as a country with a good track record for
scientific achievement. It is fitting for our scientists to bring their skills
to bear on important challenges facing Africans. Therefore, the SAMI is one of
the projects that respond directly to this imperative.

This initiative is expected to support a network of researchers from a range
of universities, science councils and other institutions to co-ordinate their
efforts by using modern biotechnology, bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry and
related cutting edge technologies to discover new drugs and develop new
diagnostics. A better understanding of the relationship between the mosquito
and the malaria parasite will lead to new options for intervention. The
combination of advanced science, access to our unique South African
biodiversity and clinical research engagement with malaria patients offers hope
for a breakthrough on this devastating disease.

SAMI is expected to focus on building a critical mass of established
scientists, and developing our young scientists into world class researchers on
malaria. Some of these young scientists are with us today and I look forward to
having the opportunity to meet with them.

In recognition of this exciting initiative, the Department of Science and
Technology has agreed to commit R11,5 million over the next two and a half
years to support collaborative research programmes in SAMI. We are looking
forward to the scientific achievements that this group is expected to
deliver.

It is heartening to learn that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the
global vaccine initiative such as MMV fully support this research and
development initiative. The malaria disease is multidimensional and should be
attacked collaboratively by all relevant agencies.

May I, in closing, thank the University of Pretoria for facilitating and
promoting this initiative. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the role
played by Professor Braam Louw for actively pursuing his dream of nurturing and
developing a world-class programme on Malaria research in South Africa. I wish
SAMI all the best in their endeavours.

Thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
7 February 2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)