"We commend the foresight of our leaders in making this crucial commitment to eliminating malaria" added Dr Mboi.
The Summit also issued a related statement on Enhancing regional health security relating to communicable diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential. To successfully tackle health security threats, including malaria, the region's governments, experts -- and communities -- must be urged to work together in new and unprecedented ways: between countries, across sectors and multiple technical specialties.
The EAS is an annual forum among the leaders of countries in East and South East Asia, as well as Russia and the United States, and immediately follows the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders' meeting. This year, heads of government met over 21--22 November to discuss issues of critical importance to the region.
Malaysia was a fitting host for the regional malaria elimination discussion: It is one of the founding members of the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN), a network of 18 countries committed to the goal of a malaria"free Asia Pacific by 2030. India joined APMEN in early 2015.
"We are driven by a passion for seeing malaria conquered, and the endorsement of the APLMA Roadmap builds on the work already done by individual countries with the assistance of APMEN and other regional bodies, such as the WHO," commented Dr Chong Chee Kheong, Director of Disease Control for the Malaysian Ministry of Health and Chair of the APMEN Advisory Board. "The Roadmap is an important and necessary step towards the elimination of malaria in Malaysia within the next five years and in Asia Pacific by 2030."
With the growing threat of multi"drug resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion, malaria elimination is clearly a top priority for the region.
CNS (Citizen News Service, citizen-news.org)
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