Carlos Slim Foundation strengthens the alliance for the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Malaria in Mesoamerica, Colombia and the Dominican Republic

The Soumaya Museum was the venue of the working meeting of the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Malaria (IREM), which was held this past June 12th with the participation of representatives of governments of the Central American countries and Colombia, and of the international organizations in the Initiative, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Fund of the World Health Organization (WHO).  Carlos Slim Helú and Marco Antonio Slim Domit led the meeting, since the Carlos Slim Foundation is one of the leading organizations of this important project.

The Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Malaria seeks to support the countries of the region in eliminating the transmission of this disease by the year 2022, and make it the first region in the world to meet that goal. For this purpose strategic activities will be strengthened that guarantee the application of the timely detection and early treatment methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), for the elimination of malaria.

The IREM seeks to eliminate the risk of contracting malaria for around 19 million people who live in our countries, eliminating around 40 thousand cases annually, which have a serious impact on personal and community development.

The Initiative has adopted the successful results-based model of the Mesoamerican Health Initiative, in which the application of funds promotes the mobilization of country resources, an important milestone for the sustainability of the Initiative, and in which countries receive an economic incentive to meet the goals agreed to.

The Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Malaria is a public-private alliance participated in by the governments of the Central American countries, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, the Carlos Slim Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund for the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria of the WHO, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as other institutions involved in the struggle against this disease, such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Central American Ministries of Health Council (COMISCA), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project.

Participants in the meeting included Juan Pablo Uribe Restrepo, Health Minister of Colombia; Roberto Tapia-Conyer, general director of the Carlos Slim Foundation; the Vice Ministers of Health of Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua, as well as representatives of El Salvador and Honduras; Emma Iriarte, executive secretary of the Mesoamerican and Regional Health Initiatives for the Elimination of Malaria; Annelise Hirschmann, regional manager for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Global Fund; Lidia Fromm, executive director of the Mesoamerican Project; Alejandro Svarch, general director of International Affairs of the SSA; Alejandra Icela Martínez of AMEXCID México, among others.