White House Summit on Malaria: How to Brand a Disease

Malaria No More Co-Founder Ray Chambers approached President and Mrs. Bush with a unique proposition: host a first-of-its-kind event on a single disease to vault malaria onto the global stage.

It worked. In December 2006 the President and First Lady hosted the White House Summit on Malaria, bringing together leaders of government, public health, business, NGOs and faith groups. The Economist treated it like the unveiling of a hot new product:

"This Thursday George and Laura Bush are due to host a most unusual product launch. The new brand to be unveiled with much fanfare at a White House summit is malaria or, more precisely, the eradication of malaria. The brains behind the summit, a group of business leaders and philanthropists operating under the auspices of a non-governmental organization called Malaria No More, are convinced that the time is right to launch what they hope will be the next big thing in the giving business." -"The Branding of Malaria," The Economist, December 12, 2006.