The Future of the U.S. Foreign Medical Policy: A Biological Understanding of Malaria in the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/3n204088f

Abstract

Malaria is a dangerous disease caused by the bite of an infected mosquito. Although some countries have managed to control and eliminate the disease, many still remain weighed down by the medical burden. In 2005, President W. Bush established the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) with the intention of the United States providing aid to Sub-Saharan African Countries to eliminate malaria. PMI has remained an important part of US foreign policy, and one of the leading policies to combat malaria, receiving consistent bipartisan support. In order to properly combat malaria, a comprehensive strategy is needed, one that also considers and addresses the biology of the disease. The biological complexity of the disease calls for a thorough foreign policy that highlights technical approaches to control the disease. Effective policy requires an in-depth understanding of the biological mechanisms of the disease and targets the methods and treatments that keeps its spread controlled. This paper aims to analyze the biological mechanisms of malaria PMI addresses, to ultimately come to the conclusion that it effectively and comprehensively targets its biology to help lead the world to global malaria elimination.

Creator