Health ministry respresentatives and senior government officials from across the region gathered at the Asia Pacific Leaders Dialogue for Malaria Elimination (APLDME)-2021 recommitted to accelerate the fight against the devastating disease in a time marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Endorsing a Call to Action
statement, the meeting highlighted three key actions to achieve malaria elimination, including adoption of a whole of government approach to address cross-sectoral challenges to malaria elimination, development of a joint cross-border elimination plans to ensure effective implementation of harmonised activities at ground level, and ensuring sustained funding for malaria service delivery and establish synergy with broader health systems funding to create programmatic efficiency.
Hosted by the Ministry of Health, Bhutan, and opened on December 13, the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) and Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) also launched WHO’s World Malaria Report 2021, titled “Malaria Elimination Amidst COVID-19: A Test of Resilience in Asia Pacific”, which revealed the challenges and disruption to malaria elimination in Asia Pacific and the discovery of remarkable resilience, agility and collaboration within the region.