APLMA-APMEN and GLIDE Launch New Partnership to End Mosquito-borne Diseases in Asia Pacific

Singapore& Abu Dhabi, 14 February 2022: The Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance, Asia Pacific MalariaElimination Network (APLMA-APMEN)and the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) have today announced anew partnership to support Governments to help drive the elimination of malariaand lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and malariaelimination in Indonesia and Timor-Leste via innovative cross-disease andcross-border approaches.

Malaria and LF are two of thedeadliest mosquito-borne diseases, devastating millions of people globally. Bothdiseases are transmitted by the same vector, Anopheles mosquito, andshare common breeding and feeding habits. Integrated vector control andcollaborative efforts are therefore needed to effectively reduce the burden andmitigate their risk to people’s lives.

APLMA-APMEN and GLIDE will support national,sub-national public health and malaria programs to improve data and evidencegeneration to guide decision-making on integrated vector management for malariaand LF in PNG and work with key partners to identify interventions to address the cross-border malaria situation between Indonesia andTimor-Leste. As COVID-19 strains national health budgets, accelerating the needto develop cost-effective, integrated models of service delivery is critical.

Cross-diseaseinitiatives in PNG

As part of thisnew, multi-year partnership, APLMA-APMEN and GLIDE will conduct a situationalanalysis in Milne Bay Province, where both malaria and LF are extremely commonand deadly. This effort aims toenhance the integration of vector management for these two diseases, leading toimproved utilisation of existing resources and more coordinated communityengagement.

Sarthak Das, ChiefExecutive Officer of APLMA, said, “Supporting the national programs and provincialpartners to improve access to information and updating recommendations foreffective integrated vector management approaches for LF and malaria will help tosignificantly reduce the burden of disease in PNG and helpaccelerate progress towards the elimination of these ancient diseases ofpoverty. This is critical to help achieve the WHO targets to eliminate malariaand neglected tropical diseases.”

Cross-bordercollaboration: Indonesia and Timor-Leste

Over thelast decade, Indonesia and Timor-Leste have made significant progress towardsmalaria elimination, however, controlling malaria across national bordersremains a challenge to country-level elimination efforts. The border betweenIndonesia and Timor-Leste features unrestricted population movement on bothsides of a 280km land border, with significant undocumented migration.Cross-border collaboration and joint interventions, such as malaria screeningat border control, joint data sharing, surveillance, and service pathways, arealso critical to help address the remaining challenges to elimination. 

SimonBland, Chief Executive Officer of GLIDE, alsocommented: “We are delighted to work with APLMA-APMEN on these two excitingpieces of work. COVID-19 has shown us that infectious diseases know no borders.Working to address cross-border elimination of malaria between Indonesia andTimor-Leste will help interventions go further and have long-lasting impacts. Wealso look forward to the outcomes of the initiative in PNG, which we hope will informintegrated approaches that span across diseases and help strengthen healthsystems.

For moreinformation, please contact:

GLIDE: GongCommunications, GLIDE@gongcommunications.com/ +44 7794 988752

GCI Health:Rachael Teo,  rachael.teo@gcihealth.com/ +65 9815 8421

APLMA-APMEN:Dimple Natali, dnatali@aplma.org/ +65 8569 1890

About GLIDE

GLIDE is anew global health institute, based in Abu Dhabi, focused on accelerating theelimination of four preventable diseases of poverty: currently malaria, polio,lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness, by 2030 and beyond.

Founded in2019 as the result of a collaboration between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed binZayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,GLIDE identifies the latest scientific, cultural, and global health knowledgeand applies it with its partners through programmes, funding, and skillsdevelopment to support local health care systems and advance global thinking.

For moreinformation, please visit: https://glideae.org/

AboutAPLMA-APMEN

APLMA is anaffiliation of Asia and Pacific heads of government, formed to accelerateprogress against malaria and to eliminate it in the region by 2030. APLMA wascreated by the East Asian Summit (EAS) leaders in 2013 to further strengthenanti-malaria efforts, both to help protect hard-won national gains and,ultimately, to defeat malaria in the region altogether. To guide this work, theAsia Pacific Leaders’ Elimination Roadmap sets out the strategic priorities forachieving the 2030 goal.

The Asia PacificMalaria Elimination Network (APMEN) is a network of countries and stakeholders,committed to eliminate malaria in Asia Pacific by 2030.

For moreinformation, please visit: https://www.aplma.org/and https://apmen.org/