BACKGROUND
Anyone can get malaria, but women and adolescent girls bear the health, societal, and economic brunt of malaria, which thrives in the poorest, remote and rural communities, exacerbates poverty and deepens inequalities. Year after year, millions of pregnant women and children under five are particularly vulnerable to malaria, making access to life-saving healthcare within 24 hours critical. Others—especially adolescent girls—fall through the many gendered gaps in the provision of malaria services, sometimes with lifelong consequences.
As patients, caregivers and healthcare providers, the unique adverse ripple effects that women and adolescent girls experience due to malaria result in significant and long term health and economic costs for themselves, their families and their communities. Though little-acknowledged, women in malaria-endemic countries also are the leading investors in the fight against malaria. They make up 70 percent of the community health workforce and, together with adolescent girls. are the greatest contributors in the informal “care economy.”
While global efforts have achieved tremendous progress against malaria since 2000, in the last five years, progress against malaria - a treatable and preventable disease - has slowed. New strategies and tailored approaches are needed to renew and accelerate progress to end malaria within a generation.
For too long, the fight against malaria has been gender-blind. The global community has not consistently brought a gender lens to the fight against malaria—until now.
ABOUT THE INVESTMENT CASE
Achieving a Double Dividend: The Case for Investing in a Gendered Approach to the Fight Against Malaria,developed by Malaria No More and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, lays out how gender-intentional strategies can lead to ending malaria sooner, and how ending malaria can help advance gender equality. It also offers solutions for rectifying the gender blind spot in our collective efforts to fight against the disease. It calls on governments, donors, researchers, implementers, policy makers, civil society organizations and the private sector to take action in four areas:
- Leadership
- Policy and advocacy
- Programs
- Research and data
More than 100 gender equality and malaria experts worldwide were consulted to inform this investment case. The report and its recommendations are informed by desk research, expert interviews, thematic workshops and a policy forum co-convened by Malaria No More, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and UN Women, that explored the health, human rights and economic imperatives of bringing a gender lens to the malaria fight.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE LINKS TO THE REPORT AND KEY MESSAGES, SUPPORTING STAKEHOLDER QUOTES, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND VISUAL ASSETS
KEY MESSAGES
Ending malaria is an unrealized opportunity for advancing gender and health equity because it is preventable, treatable and beatable. By investing in malaria eradication, we can reduce maternal and child mortality, improve women’s empowerment and gender equality and bend the curve on poverty.
When families and communities suffer less from the deadly or long-term consequences of malaria – a preventable and treatable disease – new opportunities open to women and adolescent girls. This is critical for improving other health outcomes, maximizing women and adolescent girls’ potential, catalyzing economic recovery and lifting families out of poverty.
When we invest more in women and adolescent girls at the fulcrum of the malaria fight, we can achieve a double dividend: accelerate ending malaria and advance gender equality.
Gender-based investments and strategies in malaria prevention, control and elimination efforts are key to achieving progress toward eradication that has long been elusive. But equally, ending malaria is an unrealized opportunity for advancing gender equality in health. Defeating malaria within a generation is possible. Unlocking the power and agency of women and adolescent girls is essential to achieving this goal.
For too long, the fight against malaria has been gender-blind. Women and adolescent girls in malaria-endemic countries are leading investors in the fight against malaria, yet systemic gender inequalities prevent them from reaping the benefits of a world without malaria.
As patients, caregivers and healthcare providers, women and adolescent girls disproportionately experience the health, societal and economic brunt of malaria. These effects often have lifelong consequences that perpetuate malaria as a driver of poverty and gender inequality.
It is time to address malaria’s hidden toll on women and adolescent girls and to unlock the power and agency of women and girls to become greater change agents in the fight against malaria.
Much of malaria’s toll is hidden due to factors such as lack of disaggregated gender and age data; not valuing and investing in female Community Health Workers (CHWs); and unpaid hours spent on caregiving for family members with malaria. The time is now to actively work to empower women and adolescent girls to be valued change agents in the fight against malaria. We also need to address the structural changes to enable these women to become decision makers not just implementers in the malaria fight.
A growing movement is calling for an intentional, cohesive and sustained approach to gender and malaria.
Achieving a Double Dividend: The Case for Investing in a Gendered Approach to the Fight Against Malaria lays out why it matters and what is needed to end malaria sooner, and how ending malaria can lead to improved gender equality. The Investment Case calls on governments, donors, researchers, implementers, policy makers, civil society and the private sector to step out of typical silos and bring an intentional gender lens to four areas: malaria programs, policies, research, and leadership.
SOCIAL MEDIA
NEW REPORT ALERT: @EndMalaria & @MalariaNoMore spell out double dividend for accelerating to #EndMalaria and advance gender equality in new Investment Case 👉🏾https://bit.ly/3y38b2P #GenerationEquality #ActForEqual
#DYK Women & girls share the societal and economic brunt of malaria yet they fall through the gaps of treatment & prevention? Learn more about #malaria's hidden toll on women and girls. https://bit.ly/3y38b2P #GenerationEquality #ActForEqual
Malaria eradication is one of the most effective levers we have to bend the curve on poverty for women. Want to learn how to #EndMalaria and #ActForEqual? Read the #Malaria & #Gender Investment case: https://bit.ly/3h5WYt3 #GenerationEquality
Women & girls in malaria-endemic countries are leading investors in the fight against malaria, yet they often fall through the gaps of malaria prevention & treatment. To #ActForEqual we MUST apply a #gender lens to #malaria investments. https://bit.ly/3y38b2P #GenerationEquality
Want to improve #GenderEquity? Work to #EndMalaria sooner 💁🏾♀️Read the new Investment Case on #malaria & #gender to learn how applying a gender lens to malaria investments delivers a double dividend https://bit.ly/3h5WYt3 #GenerationEquality #ActForEqual
