Having helped to reduce global malaria deaths by around 60% over the past 15 years, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership is evolving. A new RBM Partnership Board was announced in March 2016, comprised of senior level representatives from malaria-affected countries, the private sector, civil society, funding organizations, as well as entities outside the malaria and health sectors.
Sumitomo Chemical is deeply committed to working in multi-stakeholder partnership with all sectors in the fight to ultimately end malaria and is honored to announce that Ray Nishimoto, Director & Senior Managing Executive Officer, President of Health & Crop Sciences Sector, Sumitomo Chemical has been selected as a member of this critical governing body.
“The RBM Partnership is among the great success stories of the Millennium Development Goal era,” Nishimoto said. “Eliminating malaria is critical to achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals and, as a new member of the Partnership Board, I am ready to work intensively and collaboratively to end malaria for good.”
On 7th April 2016, Malaria No More celebrated its 10th anniversary with a Gala, at which Sumitomo Chemical received recognition for our activities in the fight against malaria. Though Sumitomo Chemical celebrated our 100th anniversary last year, our founder – Mr. Masatomo Sumitomo – established the Sumitomo business more than 400 years ago. His “Founders Precept”, which still guides us today, laid out the insight that to succeed in the long term business activities must benefit society. This remains our core belief and continues to guide our activities.
This is part of the reason why, when we received World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation for Olyset® Net 15 years ago, Sumitomo Chemical took on the mandate to maximize lives saved with this vital tool, instead of maximizing profit. Soon after, we initiated manufacturing in Tanzania with our partners, A to Z Textile Mills. Together, we scaled up local production of bednets to create 7,000 jobs – 90% of them for women.
In accepting the award, Nishimoto-san stated:
“On behalf of Sumitomo Chemical, I want to express our strong, ongoing commitment to continuously develop a full range of innovative vector control technologies and to end malaria in our generation. When this is done, it will rank as one of the greatest human accomplishments. The belief that business cannot succeed in societies that fail is surely true. I feel certain that if our company’s founder, Mr. Sumitomo, were here tonight, he would fully support our shared action.”