Africa-Press – Eswatini. The End Malaria Fund (EMF) hosted its inaugural golf tournament sponsored by various private sector companies.
The four-ball golf tournament earned the End Malaria Fund SZL 150 000 which was aimed at the procurement of malaria chemoprophylaxis as the ministry of health accelerates its efforts toward malaria elimination.
As part of its contribution to the fund, Alphsz envisioned an annual golf tournament that would see various institutions tee off for malaria elimination ahead of the malaria season.
The inaugural golf tournament saw 21 companies come aboard to play for a good cause on Wednesday November 30, 2022 at the Royal Swazi International.
The main objective of the tournament is to raise resources that will be invested in high-impact malaria programmes such as indoor residual spraying in areas that are prone to malaria, procurement of critical antimalarials, as well as raising awareness of the malaria season to encourage Emaswati to take the necessary preventative and curative interventions when travelling to or residing in malaria at-risk areas.
Crucial
The EMF golf day came at an opportune time as Eswatini witnessed a peak in malaria cases from January through to April and all malaria awareness before the festive season is crucial to ensure malaria is at the top of every individual’s mind during the season.
With Eswatini on the verge of malaria elimination, His Majesty King Mswati III launched the first-ever national End Malaria Fund in May 2019 to close the US$5.5 million funding gap and achieve the country’s vision of eliminating local transmission of malaria by the end of 2022.
The End Malaria Fund resulted from government’s commitment with sectors outside of health actively involved in its design and implementation.
By existing outside the public sector, the End Malaria Fund provides a novel approach to raise money directly for the National Malaria Programme through private sector investment.
Fight
The EMF operates under the ‘Zero Malaria Starts with me’ campaign, a Pan-African campaign that mobilises and empowers communities to take ownership of the fight to end malaria. We drive action from political, private sector and community leaders to accelerate malaria prevention and treatment and save lives.
Through such initiatives as the EMF golf day, the fund collaborates with both private and public sectors to work on generating enough in-kind and financial resources which will be invested towards making an impact in Eswatini communities through the National Malaria Programme.
During the EMF golf day, 15 companies inclusive of Enviro Applied Products, NBC, Royal Eswatini Sugar, Eswatini Building Society, Billion Brother Project Management Consultancy, Fincorp, ESRIC, Stanlib Eswatini, Letshego, African Alliance (Alliance Foods), Old Mutual, Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF), End Malaria Fund (EMF), Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) and Alphsz each contributed by paying a sum of SZL10 000 for a Four-ball.
The Royal Eswatini Sugar won the tournament with 104 Points. Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Fund came second with 98 points, Alphsz came third with 95 points, Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation came fourth with 93 points, while Letsego came last with 91 points.
Presenting prizes to the winners was the Minister of Finance, who was represented by Minister Manqoba Khumalo who not only came to support the fund but took to the field as he was part of the End Malaria Fund team.
Alongside the minister was the EMF Chairperson Thandile Nxumalo as well as board members Fikile Nkosi, Nedbank Managing Director and chief Prince Mkhumbi. The Ministry of Health was represented by the Deputy Director of Health Services Rejoice Nkambule.
Thanking the companies who came to support the Fund, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo threw in a challenge for those companies to ensure that in the next tournament, they bring in others to double the numbers to increase resources collected. Rejoice Nkambule extended appreciation to all companies, on behalf of the ministry, adding that they recognize and appreciate efforts made by all sectors contributing to the fight against malaria in the country.
Elaborating on the objectives of the Tournament, the Chairperson of the Fund Thandile Nxumalo mentioned that the fund aims to raise funds that seek to address resource gaps that have interrupted the National Malaria Programme from realising the vision of a Malaria Free Eswatini by 2025. She added that the Fund is looking at raising about SZL 300 000 to purchase antimalarial for the current malaria season.
The need for investing in malaria in Eswatini
The initial goal of the ministry of Health was to eliminate malaria by 2023, at which point the National Malaria Programme’s Manager Quinton Dlamini, gave an overview of malaria elimination in the country. He pointed out that retrospectively, the country was able to make great strides in the fight against malaria and history has proven the capability of Eswatini to attain this status.
He, however, emphasised that each time the country has come extremely close to malaria elimination, funders tended to withdraw their funding to approximate it to countries with a higher disease burden and soon after Eswatini witnessed an upsurge in the malaria case burden and deaths.
The interruption of critical interventions in the fight against malaria is a major setback, which is the EMF’s mandate to alleviate.
The Impact of resources received by the Fund
Support extended to the Programme
The fund has extended support to the National Malaria Programme through in-kind and financial resources that the fund receives from private companies and state-owned entities.
In 2019 (EMF Establishment)
The NMP took part in the Imbube (Kings) national marathon distributing information to participants and awarding paraphernalia promoting the End Malaria Fund to the winners.
In 2020
Despite COVID-19, the EMF continued its resource mobilisation bid to extend the following support to the NMP:
n Extended support towards the development of the Global Fund’s funding request to sustain malaria intervention from 2021 to 2023. The value of the grant applied for was USD2.6 million
n Supported the maintenance of NMP’s Indoor Residual Spraying fleet at a total cost of SZL 169 170.48
n Technical assistance to NMP in developing COVID-19/ Malaria awareness campaign through Sanlam
n The supermarket chain Pick n Pay Lojaf provided advertising space in all stores across the country for the National Malaria Programme to display posters and information about ways to keep families safe from malaria
In the year 2021
The fund extended the following support to the National Malaria Programme
n Extended indoor residual spraying operators’ contracts for a month period to ensure targeted areas were covered with IRS, a primary vector management intervention for Emaswati residing in the at-risk localities in the country, this activity came at a cost of SZL 155 170.
n The EMF responded to an urgent request to procure antimalarial primaquine in response to a drug stock-out valued at SZL 256 450.02 Printing of Malaria Epidemic Response and Preparedness (MERP) Guidelines at SZL10 720.94
n Towards the end of the year the EMF responded to a request to finalize the stratification of malaria through a workshop that produced a map highlighting all areas that needed to be prioritized for malaria interventions for subnational malaria elimination. This exercise came at a cost of SZL 72 381
n Procurement of Data Collection Tools (Tablets) valued at SZL 88 916.00
In 2022
The Fund has extended the following support to the Programme
n Procurement of Anti Malarials valued at SZL330,000 (underway)
n Maintenance of Indoor Residual Spraying Trucks
Stakeholder engagement in Advocacy Drive
The Eswatini End Malaria Fund operates under the ‘Zero Malaria Starts with me’ campaign, a movement that serves as a vehicle to drive action against malaria. One of the pillars of this campaign emphasises increasing community engagement and ownership of the malaria elimination agenda.
The fund continues to engage different stakeholders to ensure the community takes part and drives action involved and takes ownership of malaria elimination.
The golf day served as an advocacy drive, to build relationships and continuous support with all sectors in the country.
The fund has engaged through training; the media, traditional leaders, the church and the youth.
Through management with the youth, the country saw the birth of the Eswatini Malaria Youth Army, which is aimed at encouraging the youth to own the malaria elimination agenda, extending to universal health care.
Word of Appreciation
The fund would like to express its utmost appreciation to the Eswatini community for the support it has received towards making the inaugural golf day a success.
The fund appreciates the support received from the following companies for the enthusiasm and commitment displayed in ensuring the fund meets its intended objective on the day; African Alliance (Alliance Foods), Alphsz/Ebenez, Asakhiwe, Billion Brothers Projects Management Consultancy, Enviro Applied Products, End Malaria Fund, Eswatini Building Society, Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation, Fincorp, Letshego, NBC, Old Mutual, Public Service Pension Fund, Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation, Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Fund, Stanlib, Eswatini Insurance Brokers, Royal Villas, Hilton Garden Inn, African Leaders Malaria Alliance ( ALMA), Mondelez, Destiny Group, and Ngwenya Glass.
The EMF further appreciates all the support it has received over the years since its inception inclusive of: His Majesty King Mswati III, African Leaders Malaria Alliance, Republic of China (Taiwan), African Alliance First National Bank Foundation, Inyatsi Construction, Eswatini Sugar Association, Sincephetelo MVA Fund.
Eswatini Bank, Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF), Times of Swaziland, Sanlam, Pick n Pay, Nedbank, Eswatini MTN and Eswatini Financial Times.
The Zero Malaria Starts with me Campaign calls for collaboration and efforts from all stakeholders to ensure that there are enough resources for elimination and sustaining it thereafter.
Together we can end malaria and with all of Eswatini’s companies coming together, indeed Zero Malaria Starts with Me, With You, and with us.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
