Thailand

Malaria Consortium opened an office in Thailand in March 2008 to function as the regional headquarters for the Asia region at that time. It is a strategic location within the Greater Mekong Subregion, being a regional trade, diplomatic and transport hub, with many NGO’s and multilateral organisations based in Bangkok, therefore ideally located to provide technical and other support to our country offices in Cambodia and Myanmar.  

Trans-border malaria: Mapping high-risk populations and targeting hotspots with novel intervention packages

This project contributed to the control and elimination of P. falciparum malaria and artemisinin resistance in the border regions of Cambodia and Thailand, by identifying and addressing channels of parasite transmission, eliminating hotspots and encouraging affected communities to adopt preventive behaviours.

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Evaluation of coverage and usage of malaria prevention methods among mobile migrant populations

The evaluation of coverage and usage of malaria prevention methods and associated malaria risk factors among mobile migrant populations in areas with malaria transmission in Thailand

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Resilience Against Future Threats (RAFT)

Malaria Consortium is working to address the most pressing challenges facing vector control interventions for malaria and Aedes-borne diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia as part of the research consortium Resilience Against Future Threats (RAFT)led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  

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Malaria Consortium in Thailand

Malaria Consortium is firmly embedded within the Greater Mekong Subregion (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Yunnan Region of China), which has many shared public health challenges including dengue and other arboviruses, as well as a shared vision of malaria elimination by 2030. The region also has many shared economic, security, social and cultural links. These shared values and interests make it important to consider project and other interventions from a regional cross-boundary perspective, and our Thailand office strives to facilitate such regional opportunities and approaches. Through our strong links with the Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) and the Asia-Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA), the Thailand office also implements several activities that straddle the entire Asia-Pacific region, including vector control training in various formats.  

Based in Bangkok, our Thailand office has a strategic partnership with the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol University, with which we recently entered into a new ten-year Memorandum of Understanding. Malaria Consortium has offices on campus at Mahidol University, and provides support for the development of medical entomology skills by way of annual Dr Sylvia Meek Scholarships for competitively-selected Masters-level candidates. Malaria Consortium also has close links with the Department of Entomology at Kasetsart University, to develop and present training courses in malaria vector surveillance.  

In addition to reaching out and collaborating with Ministries of Health in several countries of the GMS, Malaria Consortium also hosts the APMEN Vector Control Working Group which serves the vector control community in Asia Pacific, and provides support for National Malaria Control programmes in all 21 Member Countries of APMEN. 

Areas of focus 

While historically our Thailand office has provided interventions and support in a wide range of disciplines and thematic areas, including vector control, surveillance, community engagement, as well as implementation and operational research, our current support focuses largely on capacity building in vector control and surveillance, arbovirus control, regional support for malaria elimination interventions, and advocacy. Below are some of the specific activities we are currently engaged in or recently completed. 

Strengthening Vector Control in Asia-PacificDengue Vector Control Support for innovative approaches to malaria elimination

As the implementing agent for the Vector Control Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN VCWG), Malaria Consortium undertakes a series of consultative, development and implementation activities to support training and capacity building in malaria surveillance and control, specifically targeted at National Malaria Control Programmes within the 21 Member States of APMEN. These activities include needs assessments, course developments, presentation of physical and online courses of varying duration, frequent information-sharing webinar TechTalks, hosting of an Online Resource Exchange Network for Entomology, an Annual APMEN Vector Control Meeting, as well as occasional research support. 

Our Thailand office has been a key partner in leading and supporting dengue vector control in Cambodia and Myanmar. We recently successfully concluded a two-year World Health Organization (WHO) -funded dengue suppression project in Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia, and at present are key partners in a similar project in Yangon, Myanmar, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. We also provide support to the Myanmar health authorities in development of action plans. 

Our Thailand office provides regular support in the planning and advocacy around interventions targeting forest goers and remote communities in Cambodia, which is a particular challenge as it threatens the achievement of the malaria elimination objectives in the GMS. Malaria Consortium is implementing pioneering work on malaria detection and treatment among such remote communities.