MMV and PATH strengthen ties with APLMA in the fight against relapsing malaria

Last week at the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) meeting in Nepal, MMV, PATH and the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) announced their strengthened collaboration to introduce new tools to support malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong and Asia Pacific.

The formal collaboration between the three organisations solidifies a commitment to coordinate efforts to introduce and implement effective radical cure for relapsing P. vivax malaria and associated G6PD testing in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, this will involve:

• development of advocacy strategies to highlight the needs of patients suffering from relapsing malaria, in particular, the need for timely access to P. vivax malaria diagnosis, G6PD testing and appropriate treatment;
• advocacy tools to engage senior officials in efforts to accelerate universal access to radical cure of P. vivax in line with the goal of eliminating all strains of malaria by 2030 and
• expansion of the P. vivax Information Hub, with a focus on dissemination of relevant research findings and advocacy materials for national malaria control programmes and their partners

“Together with PATH, MMV is delighted to solidify its collaboration with APLMA to support malaria elimination efforts in the Asia-Pacific”, said George Jagoe, Executive Vice President, Access & Product Management at MMV. “New tools to stop this cycle of disease have been developed, and more are in development. It is critical we get those tools to patients in need, to address the debilitating burden of relapsing malaria; this partnership will help us achieve that expanded reach.”

“Vivax radical cure tools are central to elimination efforts, and we welcome this strategic partnership with MMV and PATH.” said Dr Ben Rolfe, CEO of APLMA. “This partnership builds on the opportunity to leverage APLMA forums to engage senior officials across multiple government agencies in efforts to accelerate access to radical cure for vivax malaria.”

This formal collaboration between MMV, PATH and APLMA comes after MMV and PATH announced in April 2019 a 5-year, jointly-led initiative, VivAccess to support countries in the elimination of P. vivax malaria. The initiative, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is part of the larger global effort to support malaria-endemic countries in the adoption and use of new and existing tools to achieve effective radical cure and prevent relapses of vivax malaria.