Regional Action Plan 2017–2030. Towards 0. Malaria-Free South-East Asia Region

Since 2000 the greatly improved malaria situation in the WHO South-East Asia Region is reflected in the steady decline in annual malaria incidence and mortality. However, South-East Asia Region Member States still face daunting challenges as the epidemiology of malaria in this Region exhibits enormous complexity and the disease is concentrated mainly in remote areas often near international borders.

Plasmodium falciparum accounted for 63% of malaria cases and most malaria deaths in the Region in 2016. Resistance of P. falciparum to several antimalarial medicines, including artemisinin and partner drugs, has reached alarming levels in Thailand and to a lesser extent in Myanmar. In the area straddling the Cambodia-Thailand border, P. falciparum malaria could become untreatable with currently available drugs within a few years. It is imperative to base elimination efforts on evidence, and coordinate and monitor them.

The development of the Action Plan 2017–2030 Towards 0. Malaria-free South-East Asia Region was based on the WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030. It was refined and tailored to the regional context through WHO-led consultations involving national malaria control programmes and their partners.

The Action Plan emphasizes the progression from transmission reduction, which needs to be pursued in high-burden areas, to elimination, with its rigorous norms for surveillance and management of cases and foci. In addition, it prioritizes the rapid interruption of transmission in areas affected by multidrug resistance (including resistance to artemisinin and partner drugs). In every country and in every particular setting, the design of operations would be based on a careful assessment of technical and operational factors.