Malaria: Business Scales Up Action to End a Truly Preventable Killer

Malaria is one of the most preventable epidemics currently afflicting humanity. GBC member contributions span the full-spectrum of public health interventions, including the distribution of life-saving bed nets, treatment for infected pregnant women and the development of new diagnostic tools and medications.

After extensive discussions with its members and stakeholders, GBC has expanded its mandate to include malaria and tuberculosis.
Malaria is one of the greatest threats to global health and economic welfare. Economists estimate that malaria costs endemic countries 1.3% of GDP annually in lost productivity. This translates to an annual loss of $12 billion for the entire African continent.

The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) mobilizes international business against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The organization represents a rapidly expanding alliance of 220 international companies dedicated to combating the world's deadliest epidemics through the business sector's unique skills and expertise. Building on its success with HIV/AIDS, GBC recently added malaria and tuberculosis to its mandate, advocating business action in four key areas: workplace, community involvement, core competency, and advocacy and leadership. GBC is the official focal point of the private sector delegation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; it maintains offices in Beijing, Geneva, Johannesburg, Kyiv, Moscow, Nairobi and Paris. For more information about the organization, please visit www.businessfightsaids.org and www.businessfightstb.org.
  • Roughly 2.5 billion people in 90 counties — 40% of the total world population — are at risk of contracting malaria.
  • Every 30 seconds, an African child dies from malaria. The disease kills over 1 million people per year and afflicts as many as 500 million people.
  • Despite completely eradicating or successfully reducing malaria thirty years ago, many global regions have experienced a significant rise in the number of cases in the last decade.
  • Ninety percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa.
 GBC maintains a broad network of partnerships with public health organizations, business associations and international agencies. By partnering with leading international non-governmental organizations, GBC is, among other things, a founding partner of Malaria No More. GBC connects member companies with grassroots efforts and also helps them with on-the-ground program implementation and technical expertise in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.