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The
Mekong Malaria Programme (MMP), originally launched
in Ho Chi Minh City
in 1999 as the Mekong Roll Back Malaria Initiative, brought together all
national programs and partners working on malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It both reinvigorated existing strategic
projects in the Mekong region as well as initiated new ones. The
multi-partners’ programme, supported mainly with
USAID funds, paid particular attention to the following technical areas: (1)
monitoring therapeutic efficacy of anti-malarial drugs used in the Mekong
region to update national drug policies and implement cross-country
strategies to address multi-drug resistance, (2) monitoring quality, access
and use of antimalarials available in the field,
(3) increasing capacity of national staff to select, plan and monitor malaria
control activities, (4) setting up regular exchange forums and technical
consultations to identify, share and disseminate best practices in malaria
control including cross border activity projects throughout the GMS, (5)
strengthening Mekong malaria surveillance, and (6) setting up and monitoring
the malaria research agenda.
As a
result, more partners became actively engaged in malaria control and were
supporting national authorities to successfully reach their national targets.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, since it started
operating in 2002, has awarded more than USD 500 million in malaria control
or elimination to Mekong countries.
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