The Regional Artemisinin-resistance Initiative: towards malaria elimination

The project on Regional Artemisinin-resistance Initiative, period 2021 - 2023 has been implemented in Khanh Hoa province. Thanks to the support of the project, the number of malaria cases in the province has decreased sharply in recent years.

Sharp decline in malaria cases

According to data from the provincial Center for Disease Control, in the period 2018 - 2023, the number of malaria cases in the province has fallen dramatically with no deaths. Khanh Hoa recorded the presence of all three malaria parasites, namely P.falciparum, P.vivax and P.malariae with  P.falciparum and P.vivax remaining predominantly. Most cases are reported in the mountainous district of Khanh Vinh District, accounting for 80% in Khanh Hoa.

Offering insecticide nets to residents at the commune health station.

Thanks to malaria prevention and control effort over years together with support from the project and other resources, the cases of malaria have declined sharply from 67 in 2018 to 11 till the end of 2022.

The Project on Regional Artemisinin-resistance Initiative has provided much support for Khanh Nam Commune Medical Station. Physician Tran Thanh Hai, Chief of Khanh Nam Commune Health Station, Khanh Vinh District said, “The project has greatly supported the health station in malaria prevention and control through organizing training courses; supplying mosquito nets, medicines and test kits for treatment and rapid detection of malaria parasites... In 2022, the station were given 1,500 mosquito hammocks and nets, 200 sets of quick tests. Only 1 malaria case has been recorded in Khanh Nam commune in the past 5 years.”

Much support for malaria prevention and control

The project on Regional Artemisinin-resistance Initiative Sponsored by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria  has run in Khanh Hoa since 2018. In the 2018 – 2020 period, the project had a target to reduce malaria case incidence and mortality towards sustainable health development in Vietnam.

In this phase, the project was run in 32 communes, wards and townships in 7 districts and towns of the province, facilitating access to early diagnosis and treatment, providing professional training for 400 health workers; supplying providing 9,000 malaria test kits for suspected malaria, 1,290 Pimaqiune pills and more than 350 Pyramax tablets for malaria treatment to health care clinics; more than 46,100 hammock bug nets and 7,200 double insecticide nets. Together with many synchronous solutions, the project has contributed to improving the efficiency of malaria prevention and control in a province.

According to Nguyen Dinh Thoan, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, over years, with the joint effort of departments, agencies and the community together with the support of the project, the provincial health sector has made sustained efforts against malaria and achieved satisfactory results. The malaria elimination in Khanh is expected to be achieved by 2030 with a roadmap to eliminate P.falciparum malaria by 2025 and P.vivax parasites by 2030.

4 localities, namely Nha Trang City, Cam Ranh City, Dien Khanh District and Van Ninh District, are making documents to be recognized to have eliminated malaria at district level.

Despite achievements in malaria control and prevention, a risk of malarial recurrence still remains. Therefore, the fight against malaria requires the joint effort of all communities.

C.ĐAN

Translated by N.T