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Singapore, 6 October 2021 – The Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) andAsia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) are delighted the World HealthOrganization has endorsed the use of the world’s first malaria vaccine,RTS,S/AS01,providingcrucial protection against malaria in young children in sub-Saharan Africa. The news is a significant step forward for the malaria and scientificcommunity, particularly for high-burden countries within Asia Pacific. APLMAand APMEN congratulate all those who made this milestone to safeguard the mostvulnerable against malaria possible.
“After more than three decades of research and development, therelentless resolve and action from the global malaria community has paved theway for this scientific breakthrough”, said Prof Tikki Pangestu, Board Chair ofAPLMA and co-chair of Asia Pacific Immunisation Coalition. “The innovation is awelcome springboard and lays the foundation for next-generation innovations in AsiaPacific’s pursuit to be malaria-free by 2030.”
Dr Sarthak Das, CEOof APLMA, said, “This is a huge milestone which complements our existing arsenal of tools to combatmalaria, particularly for our most hard to reach and vulnerable populations. Wehave made tremendous strides towards eliminating malaria in Asia Pacific andthis announcement provides hope for high burden countries in the region. It'scritical now that we galvanize this attention and focus on improving service deliveryand healthcare infrastructure to reach the last mile and accelerate progresstowards regional elimination.”
Overthe past ten years, countries in the Asia Pacific region have almost halved thenumber of malaria deaths and cases and have continued to make impressive gainstowards eliminating malaria by 2030, making a significant difference to thelives of millions of people across Asia Pacific. At the same time, there isstill much to be achieved in the last stretch to malaria elimination by 2030,in Asia Pacific and of course our neighbours in other parts of the world,including in Africa.
“Progressagainst malaria is being stalled by different strains and drug-resistantmalaria. In the GMS, P.falciparum malariais retreating to border and hard-to-reach areas, while P.vivax is a burgeoning challenge for the rest of the region. We mustcontinue to develop and scale up more effective malaria interventions and acceleratethe development of new technologies to protect us from all strains of malaria”,commented Amita Chebbi, Senior Director, Asia Pacific Malaria EliminationNetwork.
The region has a historic opportunity to end malaria, in a timemarked by a pandemic. APLMA and APMEN stand committed to support AsiaPacific’s most vulnerable communities by mobilising innovationsand tailored solutions across stakeholders to make the preventableburden of malaria a thing of the past.
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