Early in June, international experts joined leaders from Southeast Asia for a summit in Laos, where they discussed the “last mile” of malaria elimination from the eastern-most sector of the region.
Burgeoning economically for decades, Vietnam and Cambodia, but also Laos DPR, have seen malaria transmission fall 67% over the last 15 years.
Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) attribute this decline to increased surveillance for earlier detection, expanded access to diagnosis and treatment, and years of cooperation between neighboring countries—the borders between which the mosquito does not respect.
“I am proud to reaffirm Lao PDR’s commitment to achieving our national malaria elimination goal by 2030,” Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told delegates.
Tough talk, but Siphandone’s goal is more than hope; it’s a reflection of the fact that malaria transmission across these 3 states have fallen to the low hundreds.
To be confirmed malaria free, the transmission-incubation cycle has to be broken for 3 straight years—something recognized as last having occurred in Egypt.
“We are proud of the progress our country has made, and we are under no illusion that the work is completed,” Lao Health Minister Baykham Khattiya said.
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Impoverished Myanmar and wealthier Thailand have had much more difficult times combatting malaria. Each possesses broad and remote border regions that are difficult to access for health workers.
At APLMA, leaders were urged to maintain government funding for malaria, as final elimination is not only one of the most complicated parts of the eradication process, but also the most expensive. Amid other public interest groups and funding recommitment decisions, a few cases here or there can easily appear trivial from the halls of power in Vientiane or Phenom Penh.
The previous country to be certified by the World Health Organization as malaria-free was Egypt, and before that Cape Verde, an island nation off the coast of Africa.
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