MEDIA ADVISORY

Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases

Click here: To access the media Hub for the Kigali summit on malaria and NTDs

Rwanda to host Global Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases

The Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs is a historic opportunity to accelerate action and unlock the potential for countries to build a healthier, safer world

Taking place on Thursday 23 June on the side-lines of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda, the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) will convene endemic and donor country leaders, including presidents, community and business leaders, and philanthropists, to galvanize action to end these diseases.

Hosted by His Excellency President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and co-convened by The RBM Partnership to End Malaria and Uniting to Combat NTDs, the Summit will be a landmark moment to renew high-level commitments and call for greater investments to end malaria and NTDs – a group of 20 diseases most commonly affecting some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

The Summit will also be a critical moment to highlight how investments in fighting these diseases have a much broader impact. Platforms built by malaria and NTD programmes have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response. Increased investments against these diseases will advance equity by further strengthening health systems and helping protect against future pandemics.

Malaria and NTDs affect the lives of billions, and incredible progress made over the last two decades proves that ending these diseases is possible:

  • Since 2000, country leadership and global partnership has saved 10.6 million lives from malaria and prevented 1.7 billion cases.

  • 23 countries have reached 3 consecutive years of zero malaria cases since 2000, with another 25 having the potential to be malaria-free in the next five years.

  • So far, 45 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, with Rwanda eliminating Human African Trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness, earlier this year.

  • 600 million people no longer require treatment for NTDs, and cases of some diseases

    that have plagued humanity for centuries, such as sleeping sickness and Guinea worm disease, are at an all-time low.

Despite these significant gains since the turn of the century, malaria and NTDs continue to pose risks of death and life-changing disability to a large proportion of the world’s population. In 2020 alone, half the world was at risk of malaria and over 1.7 billion people were affected by NTDs, and so urgent action is needed.

The Summit is therefore a pivotal moment for world leaders from endemic and donor countries to show how efforts can get back on track by renewing commitments to end malaria and NTDs and unlocking the potential for countries to build a safer world.

The Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs will be held alongside the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on 23 June 2022.

Throughout the day, high-level speeches, exciting announcements, commitments, engaging content and discussions will highlight how actions needed to end malaria & NTDs point the way forward, while also serving as crucial enablers to fight COVID-19, prepare for future pandemics, and strengthen health systems. The Summit will also feature the launch of the groundbreaking Kigali Declaration on NTDs – a high-level political declaration to mobilise political will and secure commitments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 target on NTDs and deliver the goals set out in the World Health Organisation (WHO) NTD road map for 2021-2030.

9:00 – 17:20 Central Africa Time (CAT)

Intare Conference Arena, Rusororo, Rwanda

The Summit will convene presidents, prime ministers, health ministers, CEOs, philanthropists, scientific experts, global institutions, celebrities and community champions.

Media opportunities:

There will be a variety of high-level media opportunities in the lead up to and during the Summit, including spokespeople interviews and photo opportunities. A press pack will also be released online before the Summit, followed by a press release during the Summit.

How to register attendance:

Accreditation for media to attend CHOGM 2022 and associated events such as the Kigali Summit is now open and news gathering organisations are invited to apply for accreditation by 23 May 2022.

Media outlets and journalists seeking accreditation can apply online here. Please note that it is also necessary to register the attendance to the event, here. The completion of accreditation does not guarantee that credentials will be issued.

Media enquiries and requests should be directed to:
MalariaNTDs@portland-communications.com

About the RBM Partnership to End Malaria

The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the largest global platform for coordinated action against malaria. Originally established as Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership in 1998, it mobilises action and resources and forges consensus among partners. The Partnership comprises more than 500 partners, including endemic malaria countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, non-governmental and community- based organisations, foundations, and research and academic institutions. The RBM Partnership Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland.

About Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases that affect over 1.7 billion people around the world. They debilitate, disfigure and can kill. Uniting to Combat NTDs is a collective of invested, interested and dedicated partners, including governments, donors, pharmaceutical companies, non-governmental organisations, academia and more. The partnership is committed to the fight to end the epidemic of NTDs.

Need to get in touch?