New tools to fight malaria are emerging, but fragmented markets, complex regulations, and limited visibility on supply and demand slow access for the people who urgently need them.
To address this challenge, Unitaid – in close collaboration with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, and with funding support from the Gates Foundation– will lead a new initiative to increase transparency across malaria product introduction, aiming to accelerate market entry. Through this initiative, Unitaid will work with partners to make data on product pipelines and market dynamics more accessible through an online platform hosted on the RBM dashboard. By making data more accessible, the initiative will help identify roadblocks earlier, enable countries and partners to take timely action to resolve them, and support more informed, evidence-based decisions to bring innovations to communities faster.
The project will initially focus on two priority areas that Unitaid already funds: antimalarial treatments required for multiple first-line therapy strategies to counter drug resistance; and spatial emanators, innovative vector control tools that complement insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
“Improving visibility and coordination across partners is key to accelerating access to new health tools,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director at Unitaid. “This initiative will make data on product development and market entry more transparent, helping countries and global health partners make faster, better-informed decisions.”
Malaria remains a major global health challenge, claiming the life of one person every minute. Remarkable progress made in the early part of this century has since stalled, driven in part by increasing drug and insecticide resistance. Continuous innovation is critical to ensure that malaria tools stay ahead of biological threats that could undermine their effectiveness.
The initiative aligns with the Big Push to End Malaria, a collective global effort to accelerate malaria elimination by improving coordination among countries, donors and partners. By integrating the transparency platform into RBM’s dashboard, Unitaid will contribute to the fight against malaria by providing a shared view of product readiness and market dynamics, helping partners plan more effectively, identify opportunities, strengthen accountability, and make more efficient use of limited global health resources.
“As we inch closer to the 2030 finish line against malaria, reliable and accessible data remains an important tool for decision making and optimizing resources. This initiative will enable continued innovation to counter antimalaria drug resistance while strengthening vector control as we monitor the introduction of new tools and utilize the data to inform our malaria response,” RBM Partnership to End Malaria CEO, Dr Michael Adekunle Charles, said.
Note to the editor
About the Big Push to End Malaria
The Big Push is a global initiative aimed at reigniting progress toward malaria eradication. Designed to address country-driven priorities, the Big Push focuses on preparing the global health ecosystem for eradication while continuing to reduce the malaria burden. Global progress on malaria has stalled, with SDG targets at risk of being missed. The initiative seizes this critical moment to transform malaria response by maximizing the impact of limited resources, introducing new tools, and mobilizing additional funding. It sets actionable priorities for the next five years, operationalizing strategies such as the Yaoundé Declaration and the Lusaka Agenda, and includes a robust accountability framework to ensure measurable results.