African Leaders Malaria Alliance launches malaria scorecard

"The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) has launched a scorecard to improve the fight against malaria on the African continent," IRIN reports. "Updated quarterly, it provides information from each country on policies formulated, preventative measures initiated, money spent, lives saved and lost," and "also tracks tracer indicators for maternal, newborn and child health," the news service writes.

"The latest scorecard, launched on 21 September, describes, for example, how Angola and Burundi removed taxes and tariffs on anti-malarial commodities such as mosquito nets, medicines and insecticides. It tells how Cote d'Ivoire distributed 8.9 million nets in 2011, bringing the country closer to achieving universal net coverage," according to IRIN. "Tanzania's President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, ALMA's chair, said the evidence proved the disease was 'receding steadily,'" noting that "11 African countries have slashed malaria cases by more than 50 percent," according to the news service (9/22).