The White House Summit on Malaria

By Bill Shore | December 14, 2006

Today I attended the White House Summit on Malaria. For reasons of space and security the event was held a few blocks from the White House at the National Geographic building across the street from Share Our Strength.

The Master of Ceremonies was Isaiah Washington from Grey's Anatomy and he introduced a variety of advocates, some from the U.S. and some who came from Africa, who repeated the essential statistics: that malaria kills 3000 African children a day most of whom are under five years old, that a lifesaving insecticide treated bed net can be purchased for only $10.00, and that the president's malaria initiative would spend $1.2 billion over five years. The medical director for Exxon Mobil, whose employees are at risk of malaria, explained that while we know many of the solutions, the missing ingredient has been organization. "The parasite thrives on disorganized human systems."

The headliners included Laura Bush who was introduced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. President Bush was the closing keynote and the only speaker to connect malaria control with the larger issue of America's place in the world. "By making the world more hopeful, we make the world more peaceful."

In between, Melinda Gates described her own experiences in Africa and announced new grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research, advocacy, and malaria control. Amid the celebration of grassroots fundraising efforts, educational projects like the Nets Are Nice picture book, and the role of faith-based institutions, only Gates argued forcefully that "we must accelerate the science" and insisted that "the ultimate solution is the vaccine."

Her casual, energetic and passionate tone contrasted with the measured words of government and international officials. During the only carefully orchestrated "discussion" panel, which included, among others, Paul Wolfowitz, now president of the World Bank, and Dr. Margaret Chan, the new director general of the World Health Organization, the questions were read to them and then they read their answers.

It was the first time such a gathering had taken place and even the diverse political personalities that were involved, some of who complained privately of a lack of substance, could agree that President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush deserved credit for the attention they brought to the issue.

Ray Chambers, a Share Our Strength supporter and the philanthropist who had the vision for the summit and who recently created a new grassroots organization called Malaria No More described recent polls showing that most Americans believe malaria is the least dangerous disease in the world, even though it is actually one of the most dangerous.

The summit was not all that it could have been. No one asked a question that they didn't already know the answer to, and no one said or heard anything critical of the U.S. approach. But for one morning many of our nation's most senior officials and the sizeable press corps that covers their every move at least chose to bear witness to suffering half way around the globe, and to share witness with the rest of us.