Rep. Meeks, Twenty Colleagues Send Bipartisan Letter Supporting President’s Malaria Initiative

Washington, D.C.—Senior Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-chair of the House Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD), Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, sent a letter to Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Nita Lowey of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs requesting that the subcommittee includes $845 million for the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). Twenty other Members of Congress joined the bipartisan letter in support of the PMI. Congressman Meeks released the following statement regarding the letter:

"Initially established by former President George W. Bush in 2005 and expanded under former President Obama, the President's Malaria Initiative has helped save millions of lives globally. PMI has distributed more than 197 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and procured over 376 million lifesaving antimalarial treatments. Additionally, PMI protected 16 million people through indoor residual spraying in 2015 alone. These critical interventions have resulted in a strong return on investment, having helped to save an estimated 6.8 million lives - including 6.6 million children - since 2000.

"The President's Malaria Initiative has received bipartisan support because of its tremendous work and impressive results. This letter reaffirms our bipartisan commitment to eradicating malaria worldwide. I thank my colleagues for their continued support in helping America protect the innocent and save countless lives."

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The following Representatives signed on to the letter: Gregory W. Meeks, Grace F. Napolitano, Christopher H. Smith, Adam B. Schiff, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Julia Brownley, Yvette D. Clarke, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Pete Sessions, John Conyers, Jr., Barbara Lee, Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., Mark DeSaulnier, Robin L. Kelly, Terri A. Sewell, Elijah E. Cummings, Peter A. DeFazio, Pramila Jayapal, Bill Foster, John Lewis, and Judy Chu