An intensive three-day learning fellowship in Seattle—a global hub for malaria innovation and research—to examine the future of the malaria fight and understand what it will take to end the disease for good
UPDATE: Due to interest from international media, we are opening the fellowship to all interested reporters. Applications are due on September 16, 2016.
We’re at a critical juncture in the global fight against malaria. The world has made significant progress since 2000, cutting the rate of malaria deaths by 71 percent among African children under 5. Thanks to smart investments and strong global partnerships, ending malaria is within reach. But the last chapter of the fight is likely to be our most challenging yet. Mosquitoes and the diseases they carry are building resistance to the tools we use to fight them.
Innovative tools and approaches could revolutionize how we detect, treat and prevent malaria—and accelerate the path to eradication. More sensitive diagnostics, medicines, insecticides, vaccines and approaches to mosquito control all hold great promise.
Seattle is host to some of the world’s most exciting malaria research and a hub for organizations at the forefront of innovation in data, delivery and elimination strategies for malaria. For that reason, Washington Global Health Alliance and Malaria No More have partnered to create “Innovating to End Malaria,” a new fellowship program for journalists.
The fellowship will give journalists the chance to examine malaria-related issues more deeply and engage directly with some of the world’s foremost experts in malaria research and elimination strategies. Participants will visit working labs, clinical trials and insectaries. They’ll have informal discussions and Q&A sessions at organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Center for Infectious Disease Research, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, The Global Good Fund and Intellectual Ventures Laboratory, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, PATH, and the University of Washington.
World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan last year called malaria “one of the great public health success stories since the start of this century.” The Economist recently said malaria eradication “would rank among humanity’s greatest achievements.” The United States continues to be a global leader in the malaria fight, spending more than $1 billion a year on malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and on research and development efforts. With its concentration of malaria research and innovation, the Seattle region is playing an outsized role in this historic effort.
Interested journalists are invited to apply now.
The reporting fellowship will take place October 24-26, 2016. (Additional time should be set aside for travel to and from Seattle.) Participants will be expected to produce stories based on the information gathered and contacts made during the tour.
Program Conditions:
• Journalists should be working for a print, online and/or broadcast news outlet or working as a freelancer.
• The fellowship covers airfare, hotel, meals and transportation during the program. Journalists will be responsible for their own ground transportation to and from the airport as well as any other travel arrangements or meals outside the scope of the fellowship programming.
Applications should include the following:
• Resume/CV
• Short cover letter explaining interest in the program, including brief description of a story idea about malaria to provide a sense of the applicant’s approach to the subject (Applicants will not be required to write about the proposed idea.)
• Letter of commitment or intent from the applicant’s employer (or proposed outlet if freelance) saying they will publish at least one story after the tour
Applications are due on September 16, 2016. Journalists will receive word on acceptance by September 21, 2016.
Contact Information:
Sarah Pickersgill
Malaria No More
Project Manager
206-397-1766
sarah.pickersgill@malarianomore.org
