VZCZCXRO8422
RR RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0760 1161840
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261840Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5494
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/IHA AND WHA 
USAID/CH/HIDN FOR CHRIS THOMAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO EAID KPAO CA
SUBJECT: LOW KEY RECOGNITION FOR AFRICA MALARIA DAY IN 
CANADA 
 
REF: STATE 053980 
 
¶1. Foreign Ministry officials advised that Canada planned no 
nationwide public events for Africa Malaria Day beyond an 
April 17 announcement by the Canadian International 
Development Agency (CIDA) of a C$20 million (from the FY 2007 
budget) donation to the Canadian Red Cross for bednets in 
Africa and a statement recognizing the occasion on the CIDA 
website.  The funding announced on the 17th comes in addition 
to C$46.3 million already committed for malaria work, mostly 
in Africa.  Included in the C$46.3 million is C$26 million 
previously given through the Canadian Red Cross for malaria 
work in Africa. 
 
¶2. There were, however, commemorative events in Toronto, 
where Mayor David Miller proclaimed it Africa Malaria Day in 
the city, and asserted that Toronto was the first Canadian 
city so to recognize the day.  In a City Hall event, Miller 
welcomed soon-to-be ex-MP Belinda Stronach and other leaders 
in the grassroots "Spread the Net" Campaign to raise funds 
for mosquito nets in partnership with UNICEF. 
 
¶3. Press commentary seemed relatively limited, covering 
either the Toronto angle or focusing on the relative size of 
the federal government's contributions to fight malaria 
globally and in Africa specifically.  One local academic 
called the Canadian response "pathetic," and in an editorial 
published April 24 in the Canadian Medical Association 
Journal called the government "indolent" and urged it to 
"take a hint from the United States" where the President's 
Malaria initiative "is getting rave reviews, because it 
transparently focuses on interventions that work in a small 
number of countries." 
 
¶4. Text of the CIDA statement, posted on April 25, follows: 
 
A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. 
 
Today is Africa Malaria Day - a day chosen to commemorate and 
bring attention to a preventable disease that kills over one 
million people a year.  More than 900,000 of these deaths 
occur in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
The Government of Canada is committed to the fight against 
malaria.  Working with partners such as the Canadian Red 
Cross and UNICEF, we help distribute life-saving bednets to 
African families.  In addition to this successful prevention 
method, new and innovative approaches to frontline malaria 
treatment - such as the deployment of community health 
workers to diagnose and deliver effective medications will 
help in the fight against malaria. 
 
On April 17, Canada announced an additional $20 million to 
the Canadian Red Cross to build on our successful 
partnership.  A single bednet that costs just $7 can save a 
life in Africa.  The Canadian Red Cross estimates that this 
new bednet program alone will save up to 88,000 people in 
Africa, mostly children, who would otherwise die from 
malaria.  Overall, including this new distribution program, 
Canada's New Government will have enabled the distribution of 
over six million long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. 
 
Canadians can be proud of these efforts.  Their life-saving 
impact is only part of the story.  They also help ensure that 
children are well enough to go to school and learn, and that 
women and men are healthy enough to work and care for their 
families. 
 
Canada's New Government also supports malaria prevention and 
treatment efforts through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria, to which Canada has provided almost 
$530 million, of which about 24 percent is to fight malaria. 
 
These new initiatives and commitment to this pressing issue 
will help decrease the suffering and death caused by malaria. 
 
The Honourable Josee Verner 
QThe Honourable Josee Verner 
Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La 
Francophonie and Official Languages 
 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS