With the Obama Administration’s announcement of a new global health initiative, which includes proposed increased support for malaria, and a Congressionally mandated comprehensive malaria strategy as part of last year’s reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. response to malaria is at an important juncture. There are a number of different perspectives about how best to prioritize the U.S. efforts to fighting the disease.

Against this backdrop, the Kaiser Family Foundation will hold a briefing on June 17 to examine the U.S. government’s role in addressing malaria moving forward, including its strategic options for reducing the impact of the disease, and the current status of the development of the comprehensive malaria strategy. Malaria, which is largely preventable and treatable, remains endemic in more than 100 countries, with 247 million cases annually. The discussion will touch on issues such as: What will the U.S. malaria response look like over the next five years? What strategies are most likely to prove effective? How will the U.S. efforts fit into the broader global response to malaria?

Moderated by Kaiser Vice President Jen Kates, the briefing will include Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, the U.S. Malaria Coordinator; Sir Richard Feachem, Professor of Global Health at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley and Director of the Global Health Group at University of California, San Francisco; David Brandling-Bennett, Deputy Director, Malaria in the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Natasha Bilimoria, Executive Director of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Mark Green, Managing Director of the Malaria Policy Center.

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET (Registration and breakfast at 9 a.m.)
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WHERE:
Barbara Jordan Conference Center (Kaiser Family Foundation Office)
1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC (one block west of Metro Center)

RSVP:
Please RSVP to Tiffany Ford Fields or call 202-347-5270.

CONTACT:
For further information, please email Craig Palosky or call 202-347-5270.

WEBCAST:
For those who cannot attend in person, an archived webcast of the briefing will be available later that day at www.kff.org.