CAMA, PSMP award five organisations for combating malaria in Africa

The GBCHealth’s Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) alongside the Private Sector Malaria Prevention Project (PSMP) at John Hopkins Center for Communication, UK Aid and the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ghana Health Services, have conferred awards on five organizations for their role in combating malaria scourge on the continent.

The awarded organizations – ExxonMobil, Aliko Dangote Foundation, TANA Netting, Access Bank and Hippo Valley Estates Ltd. – have taken significant steps to protect their employees and communities; and contribute to sustainable progress on national and global malaria eradication goals.

The event which took place in Accra, Ghana recently had Rebecca Akufo-Addo, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, giving the keynote address. The award night also provided an opportunity for corporate leaders to share best practices and explore opportunities for partnership.

“For more than a decade GBCHealth has been presenting awards to companies that exemplify a spirit of innovation and seek to address today’s most critical global health challenges. Each of these companies is demonstrating through action what true leadership looks like when it comes to serving their employees and communities,” Nancy Wildfeir-Field, president, GBCHealth said.

ExxonMobil malaria initiative won the award for the Champion in Sustainability Malaria Program for reaching more than 125 million Africans with their community malaria initiative.

Also, Aliko Dangote Foundation won the Leading in Multi-sectorial Partnership award for promoting multi- sector partnerships to increase the impact of private sector support of malaria control and elimination.

The Local Development and Empowerment award was won by TANA Netting for DawaPlus project that places labor intensive processes of LLIN production in African countries to maximize the developmental potential of donor funds by also creating local employment opportunities.

While Access Bank won the Innovation in Malaria Financing award with its Malaria to Zero initiative that leverages innovative financing technology and media tools to accelerate the impact of malaria behavior change targeting grassroots and underserved communities across Nigeria.

Lastly, Hippo Valley Estates Limited won the award for Workplace and Workforce Engagement with its Wellness and Disease Management project that is builth on prevention through an itegrated public health approach to communicable diseases such as malaria, TB and HIV; maternal and child health management for employees and their dependents; and onsite clinical, diagnostic and radiology services.

Josephine Okojie