Bissau, 16 April 2024 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Guinea-Bissau announce the renewal of their partnership to implement a grant of 30 million euros from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This grant will further strengthen the national response to malaria in Guinea-Bissau alongside a second grant managed by the Ministry of Public Health, worth an additional 30 million euros, to respond to HIV and tuberculosis (TB). The two grants total 60 million euros for 2024-2026.

Through the new malaria grant, UNDP will support the Government of Guinea-Bissau to eliminate malaria and achieve its development aspirations by scaling up high-impact malaria prevention and treatment programmes in line with the National Strategic Malaria Plan 2023-2027, including:
•    Routine and mass distributions of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets
•    Preventive treatment for pregnant women and children under ten years
•    Improved facility- and community-based management of malaria cases

Support to health workers to remove human rights- and gender-related barriers to accessing treatment and care.
As the Principal Recipient of the Global Fund malaria grant, UNDP support to the Government of Guinea-Bissau and its partners is based on the achievements gained through previous Global Fund grants in the country, which include:

•    Funding all malaria diagnosis and treatment in Guinea-Bissau.
•    Conducting approximately 500,000 malaria tests and providing treatment to 200,000 people in 2022.
•    Distributing more than 1 million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets through national mass campaigns every three years, with the latest occurring in June 2023, which provided 1.3 million bed nets to protect over 2 million residents from malaria.
•    Rehabilitating the Central Medical Warehouse ( CECOME)  with the installation of solar panels to provide reliable and affordable renewable energy for improved operations.

"UNDP is honoured to be responsible for managing the Global Fund's grant of 30 million euros to combat malaria and strengthen health systems in Guinea-Bissau over the next three years, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health," stated José Pedrosa-Garcia, Economics Advisor representing UNDP Guinea-Bissau at the grant ceremony.

In his speech, His Excellency the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Domingos Malu, emphasized that the support from the Global Fund has been essential for the Government of Guinea-Bissau in strengthening the health system in response to TB, HIV and malaria in the country.

With the support of the Global Fund, UNDP partners with the Government of Guinea-Bissau to end HIV, TB and malaria and achieve a more equitable, healthy and sustainable future.  UNDP's support is strengthening national health capacities and building a stronger, more resilient health system that can face health challenges and deliver life-saving health services in the future, as part of the efforts to fulfil the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the commitment to leave no one behind.

Press Contact: Pamela Ferreira | UNDP Communication Analyst | tel.: +245 956818258 | Email: pamela.ferreira@undp.org

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