Access Bank, CAMA Urge Private Sector To Support Fight Against malaria

To effectively win the fight against malaria and curb its debilitating effects on maternal health especially, the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) is drumming for a synchronized collaboration across sectors.

This call was made when the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) held its 2019 CAMA End of the Year members/partners meeting to discuss the various projects embarked upon during the course of the year

Africa has made substantial progress against malaria since 2000 and the private sector has contributed greatly to this progress. CAMA, however observes regrettably that malaria is still a public health challenge in the continent and there is more work to be done.

Speaking on behalf of CAMA at the partners meeting, Ochuko Keyamo-Onyige, Country Manager, Nigeria, GBCHealth CAMA notes that the organization has been at the vanguard of elimination of malaria for the past 13 years at a continental and country level. Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) has mobilized business action on malaria—recognizing that the assets of the private sector are a valuable resource in the fight to protect employees, communities and consumers from malaria.

She revealed further that CAMA’s strategic plan sets out the framework for action for the alliance for the next three years (2020 – 2022), giving members and collaborating organizations direction and inspiration to continue as leaders in mobilizing the private sector for malaria control and elimination in Africa.

It said CAMA member companies both lead and support innovative malaria prevention, control and treatment activities and collectively deploy millions of dollars to programs that serve the needs of malaria-affected people and communities.

Lending his voice, Medical Advisor, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Richard Ajayi, said CAMA allows participating corporate organizations to profile their workplace programme before peers and other partners, which rarely get to do otherwise.

Similarly, the former Coordinator, Corporate Responsibility & National Affairs, Nigeria, Chevron, said as a result of the 2014 CAMA Forum in Abuja, they have realized that they could do more with Malaria in Pregnancy, so they introduced this intervention into various community programs.

“For a long time, there existed a disconnect between the public systems and the private systems, where everybody was doing everything by themselves individually, in pockets which led to inefficiencies and wasted resources. But, partnership and coming together has brought in to place increased efficiency in not only utilization of resources, but harmonizing what everyone is doing without duplication,” Dr. Barnabas Bwambok of Vestergaard said.

He added that this the correct step in the right direction that will ensure that CAMA’s targets and goals are achieved.

According to Head of Sustainability, Corporate Communications at Access Bank, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, the effectiveness of a private sector alliance lies in the quality and dedication of its member organizations.

“Over the years, CAMA has demonstrated its value by collating and integrating the efforts of multiple cross-sector stakeholders to scale up the overall impact. These collaborations have fostered powerful and targeted engagement throughout the communities that need it the most. It is ultimately crucial that the momentum continues, therefore, we beseech you to remain committed to our joint efforts against malaria in Africa,” she said.

The Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) is a GBCHealth-led initiative to drive partnerships for malaria elimination. Launches by Marathon Oil in 2006, the alliance is a unique coalition of companies from various industries, all with business interests in Africa. CAMA channels the collective force and voice of the private sector to drive impact on malaria in Africa from workplaces to region-wide initiatives