Novartis announced that, through Power of One, enough funds have been raised to deliver three million antimalarial treatments for children in Zambia. Launched in September 2013, Malaria No More’s Power of One campaign is supported by Novartis as the exclusive treatment sponsor.

Although preventable and treatable, malaria still kills a child every minute(1). Support for Power of One reflects the Novartis commitment to help accelerate progress toward malaria elimination. Every dollar donated to the campaign buys and delivers a treatment for a child with malaria in Africa. Using social, mobile, and e-commerce technologies, donors can see the impact of their donation on the ground, share the experience with their networks and recruit other donors.

“Power of One is a natural extension of our company’s commitment to the fight against malaria and I am very proud of the contributions Novartis associates have made to help children in Zambia,” said Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer, of Novartis. “Over the past decade, we have delivered 700 million antimalarial treatments without profit in malaria-endemic countries but more work is needed. We need to continue to step up efforts, not only by increasing access to antimalarials but also by researching next-generation treatments to move closer to our vision of a malaria-free world.”

The Novartis Malaria Initiative has pledged to match up to 1 million treatments funded by the public every year through 2015, doubling the impact of Power of One donations. Novartis Group company associates from 42 countries also rallied behind Power of One to support the company’s goal to eliminate malaria. During the past 12 months, several creative efforts have enabled associates to raise enough money to fund close to 500,000 treatments. Activities included a brand-related cause marketing campaign led by the Over-the-Counter business in Switzerland, participation in the Global Corporate Challenge through the company’s Be Healthy well-being programme and a global internal fundraising competition.

“After only a year, thanks to the generosity of the global public and Novartis associates, we have been able to meet our goal of raising three million treatments for children in Zambia,” said Martin Edlund, chief executive officer,  Malaria No More. “This is a great achievement but we need to continue the fight and help ensure no child dies from malaria due to lack of a one dollar treatment.”

The initial focus country of Power of One was Zambia, the first African country to change its treatment guidelines from chloroquine to newer artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). The campaign will now also benefit patients in Kenya, where 200,000 treatments have just been delivered, in an effort to help drive down malaria morbidity and mortality among children.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Novartis International AG.

Malaria No More’s Power of One campaign offers the global public and corporations the opportunity to help end malaria deaths one dollar and one child at a time. Every dollar donated funds a full treatment course for a child diagnosed with malaria in Africa. Malaria No More is grateful for the support and contributions of Power of One partners: Novartis, Alere, the Zambian Government, 21st Century Fox, AGFUND, AHAlife.com, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Causes.com, Havas Worldwide, John Snow, Inc., Newman’s Own Foundation, PATH/MACEPA, Peace Corps, Time Warner, Twitter, the United States President’s Malaria Initiative, Venmo, West.

The Novartis Malaria Initiative is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s largest access-to-medicines programmes, focussed on treatment, access, capacity-building and research & development. Over the last decade, the initiative has delivered 700 million treatments without profit, mostly to the public sector, including 250 million paediatric antimalarials developed specifically for children. Moving forward, Novartis is committed to working towards malaria elimination by driving the development of next-generation antimalarials, with two new classes of drugs currently in phase II clinical development.