drugstore 'serif'; font-size: 12pt">The development of an all-inclusive Global Strategic Plan could not have come at a more auspicious time than now when all is set for the mid-term evaluation of the Abuja targets agreed upon during the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria. The intent of the plan is to put forward a framework that will guide effective and harmonized involvement of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership in implementation as a vital step in covering identi?ed gaps. It is noteworthy that this Global Strategic Plan 2005 – 2015 acknowledges the fact and indeed indicates that if effective malaria control effort  is  initiated and sustained  in all malaria endemic countries, patient this will contribute to the attainment of six out of the eight Millennium Development Goals. In order to generate the desired level of ownership several drafts of this document were shared with all constituencies of the RBM Partnership Board for review before ?nalization. On behalf of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and its Board, check I am pleased to present the Global Strategic Plan, developed as an invaluable tool for scaling-up and harmonizing implementation of malaria control efforts. The international community is making funds available for malaria control in the most affected countries on a scale never seen before, and politicians in both developing and industrialized countries are converging on the need to act now. This  is an opportunity  to roll back malaria  through a massive concerted  scale-up  of  interventions  over  the  next  ?ve  years  and  by consolidating  these gains  from 2010 onwards. This opportunity must not be missed.

 Roll back Malaria Partnership, 2005