This session included a formal presentation and moderated discussion of malaria control and elimination over the past decade. A primary focus was the ongoing transition from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to a tailored, country-specific approach toward malaria control and elimination.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the transition in malaria epidemiology over the past decade, including successes, failures, and key lessons learned.
2. To appreciate the opportunities and challenges to malaria elimination in the next decade and the implications for the ultimate goal of malaria eradication.
3. To understand how countries evaluate the case for elimination, the processes for translating ‘what can be achieved’ into long term targets for ‘what should be achieved,’ and evaluating the case for global malaria eradication.

The session described various aspects of the smallpox and polio eradication programs, including the decision to undertake eradication and program components such as surveillance and intervention approaches, key challenges faced and how they were met, and the ways in which key eradication partnerships were developed and governed.

Learning Objectives:

1. To gain a better understanding of ‘how to decide’ to eradicate, how to generate political will, and how to sustain momentum for an eradication program.
2. To review challenges to eradication that cut across programs and understand how these challenges might apply to new eradication initiatives.
3. To gain a better understanding of the specific lessons learned from past eradication efforts and the potential application of these approaches to malaria.

This session built upon the learnings of the “The Biology of Malaria” pre-course video lecture. Participants engaged in an active discussion of the biological implications of malaria eradication, including critical biological features of the parasite and current knowledge gaps. Key discussion topics included parasite biology (e.g., cell biology, parasite genetics, biochemistry of the parasite, red cell interaction, drug action, and resistance mechanisms), malaria epidemiology, and parasite-vector relationships.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the biology, life cycle-basis for this disease, and global public health aspects of malaria, including methods of measurement, magnitude of the problem, and consequences of the disease on the population.
2. To understand the incidence and distribution of infection and disease in human populations, determinants of frequency and distribution.
3. To consider the interrelationship of organisms and their environments, including identifying ways of reducing the incidence and/or severity of malaria within populations, obstacles, and consequences.

The biology, ecology, and epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax is distinct to that of other malaria parasites, presenting unique challenges for elimination. Current tools designed to combat Plasmodium falciparum will not be effective against P. vivax, requiring specific investment for the development of tools and control measures for this species.

This session explored the key characteristics that make P. vivax more resilient to control and the impact of these characteristics on the effectiveness of current control methods. Existing and novel tools that may be required to accelerate the elimination of P. vivax were also discussed.

Learning Objectives:

1. To gain a better understanding of the public health importance of P. vivax.
2. To review the key gaps in our knowledge of P. vivax biology, ecology, and epidemiology.
3. To understand the difficulties in controlling P. vivax, and to review possible solutions for the elimination of this species.

One of the biggest challenges to achieving malaria elimination for many countries relates to cross-border transmission of the infection. The World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Programme defines the problem as: “malaria transmission associated with the movement of individuals or mosquitos across borders.” Of note, this definition differentiates “cross-border” from “cross-national.” Border areas are often quite porous, distant from urban centers, and have weak health systems. Local trans-border movement can challenge elimination efforts, particularly when national strategies or interventions are not aligned. Even after national certification, cross-border malaria can present challenges by reintroduction or importation of drug resistant malaria strains. For this reason, regional initiatives have evolved as one approach to facilitate cross-border collaboration. Other diplomatic and programmatic strategies have also been proposed and these efforts were considered as part of the discussion.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the implications of the differentiation of cross-border verses trans-national malaria.
2. To explore the biggest challenges to the management of cross-border malaria in the context of elimination.
3. To discuss current measures to address these challenges and how successful these measures have been.
4. To evaluate the sustainability of current efforts to address cross-border transmission, including factors that may challenge the sustainability of these control measures.
5. To gain a better understanding of the lessons learned from scale-up activities and efforts to align cross-border strategies.
6. To consider approaches from other infectious disease elimination or eradication programs and/or research communities (polio, guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, etc.) to ensure cross-border control of infection.

Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition of malaria-free status granted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Certification confirms to the international community that the country, at that point in time, has interrupted local transmission by Anopheles mosquitos, and that it has had an adequate system for preventing its re-establishment. Certification of malaria elimination is granted for a country as a whole when indigenous transmission is interrupted for all four human malaria species. This session provided participants with a historical overview of the WHO’s certification process for malaria with a focus on the evolution of its criteria for certification and a review of the current requirements.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the context, procedures, and general principles to certify malaria elimination at the country-level.
2. To gain a better understanding of the WHO’s post-certification reporting requirements, including measures set up by the WHO to prevent re-establishment of the disease.

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

The tools and tactics required for active infection detection to support malaria elimination are different than those that have been successful for passive case detection in malaria control. This session provided participants with the ability to: 1) recognize the differences between active and passive case detection, 2) define the unique diagnostic needs and product gaps for elimination/active infection detection, 3) translate those needs to biomarker and product requirements, 4) analyze how existing tools meet those requirements, and 5) understand the current product pipeline.

Learning Objectives:

1. To identify gaps with existing diagnostics for elimination needs.
2. To understand the diagnostic product development perspective and process, including Target Product Profile development and new diagnostic products to support malaria elimination.
3. To gain an overview of the unique needs associated with correctly identifying the asymptomatic reservoir.
4. To understand and discuss existing diagnostic product strengths and limitations, products in the development pipeline, and “what to expect” over the next five years.

This session built upon the learnings of the “Genomic Approaches to Malaria Elimination” pre-course video lecture. An introduction to the emerging field of genomic epidemiology was provided, including use case scenarios to leverage genetic data for improved decision making in malaria control and elimination settings. A primer on relevant DNA technologies and population genetic principles was provided followed by an interactive discussion of the practical considerations for developing local capacity to implement this approach.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the basic principles of genomic epidemiology and its application to malaria-endemic settings.
2. To understand how parasite genetic data can be generated, analyzed, and used for an improved understanding of malaria epidemiology in various contexts and settings.
3. To identify use case applications of parasite genetic data to improve malaria control and elimination strategies and decision making.

This session provided an overview of the current knowledge base of malaria treatment with a focus on the use of antimalarials for elimination purposes. Emphasis was placed on the differences between the “control mode” versus the “elimination mode,” including a discussion of past and current efforts to eliminate malaria through the use of drug-based strategies. Participants were encouraged to consider the adequacy of different drug regimens used for elimination, as opposed to control purposes. These learnings were contextualized in light of current World Health Organization recommendations for the use of drugs for elimination purposes.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the differences between the use of antimalarial drugs to control malaria and to eliminate malaria.
2. To review the different characteristics of antimalarial drugs and what would make a drug (or a combination of drugs) ideal for elimination purposes.
3. To understand the rationale for current recommendations regarding the use of antimalarial drugs in elimination efforts.

This session provided an overview of the challenges to drug discovery and development for malaria. Two specific R&D issues were discussed during this session: 1) how to use the drugs we currently have better and 2) how to find new drugs to replace them, if and when, the current drugs fall to resistance.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand whether or not we have Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) untreatable malaria, and if so, when it will arrive in Africa and what we can do if/when it does.
2. To discuss how we can find new drugs and why it is important to enhance investments in the early stages of drug development over the next decade.
3. To assess the difference between drugs required for the treatment of malaria cases and those for protecting vulnerable populations.

Vaccines have been essential in the eradication of smallpox and in the significant progress toward eradication of polio; however, no vaccine targeting a human parasite is currently in routine use. RTS,S is the most advanced vaccine under development, and in 2015 results from a large Phase 3 trial were reported. Among children aged 5 to 17 months who received four doses of RTS,S, and followed for four years, approximately 4 in 10 cases of clinical malaria and 3 in 10 cases of severe malaria were prevented. In late 2018, initiation of a World Health Organization (WHO) coordinated Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) is expected in parts of Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi; 360,000 children per year, for at least three years, will be vaccinated through routine health services across the three selected countries. The MVIP has been designed to address three major questions: the feasibility of administering the required four doses of the vaccine in children; the vaccine’s role in reducing childhood deaths; and its safety in the context of routine use. Data and information derived from the MVIP will inform a WHO policy recommendation on the potential for broader use of the vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa.

While RTS,S could have a major role in preventing morbidity and mortality in young African children, as well as a role in eliminating and/or preventing reintroduction in certain settings, it is widely acknowledged that a vaccine providing higher and more durable efficacy against infection and/or transmission will be needed. This need is likely to be particularly relevant in regions with perennial transmission, high vectoral capacity, and/or weak public health systems.

Next-generation vaccines are under development that target all three major lifecycle stages—pre-erythrocytic, asexual blood stages, and sexual stages—toward prevention of disease and death, and/or acceleration of elimination and eradication, in alignment with the goals of the Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap published by WHO. Encouragingly, several novel vaccines have demonstrated efficacy against infection and/or transmission in small clinical trials, including in sub-Saharan Africa; however, none have yet been associated with the superior value proposition (e.g., via efficacy, durability, cost, ease of implementation, etc.) likely needed to justify a major investment in advanced development.

The majority of malaria vaccine R&D is funded by the public and philanthropic sectors; this is consistent with the absence of a dual market opportunity that would enable product developers to recoup development costs via sales in more financially lucrative markets. Further, the unexpected requirement for pilot implementation of the first vaccine, in advance of wide-scale roll-out, has created additional funding needs that some have referred to as a ‘second valley of death’ in the product development lifecycle.

Funding for global malaria control and elimination for 2016 totaled an estimated $2.7 billion, well below the $6.5 billion needed annually by 2020 to meet the 2030 targets of WHO’s global malaria strategy. This funding gap creates another major challenge that will need to be overcome to ensure that new tools, such as a vaccine, are implemented in a way that ensures that their potential for public health impact is maximized.

Learning Objectives:

1. To review critical gaps in control and elimination programs that could be addressed by a vaccine.
2. To assess the biological, technical, and regulatory challenges—as well as the opportunities—associated with developing vaccines that interrupt malaria (parasite) transmission.
3. To understand the challenges associated with the current business model for the development and introduction of malaria vaccines.

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

This session was an active case study discussion that builds upon the “Social, Cultural, Behavioral, and Environmental Determinants of Malaria” pre-course lecture. As countries plan for malaria elimination, political instability can impose major barriers for the uptake of important control strategies and for the sustainability of achieved gains. Similarly, environmental factors (natural environment: e.g., climate and land cover, and/or human-made environment: e.g., housing conditions and land use), which historically were the target of control interventions, may play a particularly important role for the achievement of elimination. This session discussed how these factors may affect elimination goals, and how countries should anticipate and plan ahead in order to mitigate the challenges that political and environmental factors impose.

Learning Objectives:

1. To identify important factors related to political instability and climate change that affect the pattern and the level of local malaria transmission, and then may impose barriers for malaria elimination.
2. Discuss the feasibility of social and environmental interventions as strategies for current efforts of malaria elimination.

This session built upon the “Malaria Control and Elimination: Surveillance-Response Approaches” pre-course lecture. An introduction to the concept of surveillance-response was provided, including an examination of how surveillance-response approaches and systems can, and should, be tailored to different transmission and elimination settings.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the concept of surveillance as intervention and how this leads to tailored surveillance response-approaches and systems in different transmission and elimination settings.
2. To distinguish the surveillance-response approaches that are based on the minimal essential data collected in space and time to the traditional concept of monitoring and elimination where generally maximally possible data are collected.

This session built upon the “Vector Biology and the Dynamics of Malaria Transmission” pre-course video lecture and covered different aspects of mosquito biology that are key to parasite development and malaria transmission. Discussions centered on current vector control strategies and future methods that can aid in disease control.

Learning Objectives:

1. To develop an understanding of the complexity of malaria transmission by the mosquito vector.
2. To discuss present challenges facing vector control.
3. To identify novel opportunities to block malaria transmission by the mosquito.

This session provided a review of the epidemiological and operational features of the three main vector control tools: insecticide treated nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and larviciding.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the essential concepts and epidemiological features of ITNs, IRS, and larviciding.
2. To understand the comparative operational strengths and weaknesses of ITNs, IRS, and larviciding as malaria control interventions.
3. To understand key issues raised by the combination of different vector control approaches, and the role of modeling in this assessment.

New tools will be required to eliminate malaria in order to address the residual transmission, not targeted by current tools, and to combat the growing level of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors. Research and development is focused on new tools that will work in synergy with existing strategies: insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying. In this session, the behavior and physiological resistance of vectors will be discussed and new technologies in the product development pipeline will also be introduced. These include new insecticides, new bed nets, vector traps, personal protection tools, attract and kill baits, and lethal house lures.

Learning Objectives:

1. To identify key mosquito behaviors and resistance mechanisms that reduce the efficacy of existing tools.
2. To understand the most promising new technologies in the vector control development pipeline for malaria and dengue control.

Despite novel insecticides rotated on existing delivery platforms and the development of new insecticide delivery platforms, we will still face the challenges of transmission outside of village settings as well as the ongoing challenges of adherence. An integrated approach to R&D requires exploring delivery with longer durations of action than existing products and tools that expand coverage to non-traditional species or affect vector competence. These tools include extra-long-lasting indoor residual spraying, human and cattle endectocides, and modified insect populations (i.e., Wolbachia-infected or genetically modified mosquitos). The second half of this session featured a moderated panel discussion and Q&A with Flaminia Catteruccia, Christian Lengeler, R. Scott Miller, Hilary Ranson, and Dyann F. Wirth.

Learning Objectives:

1. To identify key product attributes for long-term R&D solutions to prevent transmission of malaria for elimination.
2. To understand how an endectocide works and its application to malaria vector control.
3. To be able to define the biological control challenges associated with the release of a genetically modified insects and consider additional challenges imposed by the use of a gene drive.

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

Significant global progress has been made since 2000 to reduce the incidence of malaria illness and malaria-related mortality. However, recent evidence suggests that the trend toward fewer malaria cases and deaths has stalled, or in some regions of the world, reversed course. According to the World Health Organization 2017 World Malaria Report, many countries have reported limited progress and even increases in malaria cases, particularly those with a high burden of malaria. Analysis reveals that countries with ongoing malaria transmission are increasingly falling into one of two categories: those progressing towards elimination and those with a high burden of malaria that are failing to reach their coverage and impact goals or are experiencing setbacks in their responses.

This session considered 1) trends in global support for malaria ‘tools’ (e.g., procurement and distribution of commodities such as bed nets, diagnostics, drugs, etc.); 2) experiences from course participants working in high burden countries with slower than expected progress or upturns in malaria cases; and 3) ways to balance new tools with evidence-based malaria interventions and approaches (e.g., surveillance and response, data reporting, including District Health Information Software System version 2 [DHIS-2], etc.) in high- burden countries.

Learning Objectives:

1. To characterize the factors that have enabled dramatic success in malaria control and elimination since 2001, as well as those factors that may have contributed to slower than expected progress or reversals.
2. For participants to share experiences delivering and evaluating malaria programs in high burden countries with a focus on how subnational priorities are established and implemented.
3. To consider the information needs and available tools that national malaria control programs and their partners can rely upon to accelerate burden reduction and prepare the way for elimination.

Malaria is a disease that is inseparable from its context—it occurs in vulnerable populations within a complex interrelated array of biomedical and socioeconomic problems. The challenges of managing this complex disease are exacerbated by the limited infrastructure and difficult climate of endemic countries. Responses are influenced by social, political, economic, and cultural factors that complicate the real-world response. However, a shared vision can mobilize stakeholders to create common goals of how and where we want to go as a global community. In response to the global call for malaria eradication—and improved knowledge-base of the disease—the field has changed rapidly over the past decade. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Malaria Programme sets policies and guidelines for fighting malaria, and national, multinational, and local partnerships (in both the private and public sectors) engage with countries to implement them. This session considered the roles of malaria partnerships, namely the US President’s Malaria Initiative and the Pan American Health Organization/WHO in combating malaria.

Learning Objectives:

1. To gain an appreciation of critical success factors for leadership.
2. To understand the role of leadership (at all levels) of partnership to advancing goals.
3. To understand key functions of global health partnerships for malaria in terms of setting targets, identifying key interventions, establishing (and meeting) funding targets, and creating additional coalitions.
4. To appreciate the challenges (and opportunities) related to ‘framing’ the problem­—how do members within the partnership and external to the partnership understand the problem of malaria and its solutions?

Mathematical models of malaria have been used for more than 100 years as a tool to facilitate the understanding of malaria transmission dynamics. This session briefly reviewed the evolution and state of modeling strategies, and the focus on discussing the potential and principles of applied modeling for public health action towards elimination.

Learning Objective:

1. To understand the potential of mathematical modelling for malaria elimination/eradication with regards to: feasibility of engaging in elimination; choosing the best combination of integrated, mixed interventions; and assessing the cost-effectiveness of different intervention strategies.

This session was an active case study discussion (based on the required reading of the case study) that built on the “Political Analysis for Malaria” pre-course video lecture. Participants analyzed the challenges confronting Zambia’s National Malaria Control Centre (MNCC) in collaboration with PATH’s Malaria Control and Elimination Partnership in Africa (MACEPA) project in Zambia in preparing to scale up malaria elimination activities. The discussion focused on how the MNCC responds to positive results from a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) study in the Southern Province of Zambia and the implications for national malaria policy.

How can the MNCC coordinate both state and non-state actors (including international non-governmental organizations, national non-governmental organizations, community- and faith-based organizations, donor agencies, traditional authorities, regional coordinating bodies, and academic institutions) in moving forward the government’s elimination targets and strategies?

Learning Objectives:

1. To analyze the landscape of both non-state and state actors in reaction to the results of the MDA study.
2. To assess the position and power of non-state and state actors regarding the MNCC’s efforts to move towards malaria elimination.
3. To propose specific strategies for the MNCC in order to promote effective collaboration among state and non-state actors.

This session built on the “Partnering to Eliminate Malaria in Zambia” session and provided an examination of the components necessary to progress from malaria control to elimination with currently available tools. Participants gained an understanding of how, moving forward along the continuum of malaria elimination, local epidemiology will drive choice of high impact interventions either singularly or in combination with implementation, monitoring, and management.

1. To learn about the “A to E” components approach to malaria elimination, using the Zambian context as an example.
2. To gain knowledge of the epidemiological stratification and corresponding package of interventions.
3. To understand the importance of surveillance as a key intervention to malaria elimination.

The “malERA Refresh” was a consultative process to update the research agenda for malaria elimination and eradication, first published in 2011. The consultative process involved over 180 experts (e.g., scientists, national malaria program leaders, and policymakers from around the world) seeking to accelerate progress to a world free from malaria and resulted in the publication of seven papers entitled the ‘malERA Refresh’ (or malaria eradication research agenda) in the journal PLOS Medicine. Coordinated by the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the goal was to define a forward-looking research and development agenda that will accelerate progress towards malaria elimination and global eradication.

Using the example of Ivermectin — the effort to repurpose a drug commonly used to treat parasitic diseases that may be a new tool for malaria control — this session was an interactive discussion of the concept of translating research to access, particularly in the context of market failure (since most products for neglected tropical diseases are donated) and its application to malaria interventions. In addition, participants explored ways to authentically engage the malaria community — from national to global — to advance the ambitious vision of the malERA R&D agenda.

Learning Objectives:

1. To consider key questions in mapping out advances in the R&D agenda for malaria elimination, including:

What groups need to be brought together to consider its use?

Who else needs to be engaged and involved (at what level and where)?

Who sets the agenda for the use of this drug? 

Who will fund its use?

How do you bring clinical, policy, regulation, and community engagement?

2. To consider what criteria should be used for prioritization of research in light of the fact that malaria as a field is under resourced.

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne

This session provided an overview of the fundamentals of health systems, including 1) the latest thinking related to health systems strengthening; 2) lessons learned from recent innovations; and 3) challenges for malaria elimination within the context of health systems strengthening. This session also provided course participants with contextual information and examples of the role of leadership and the impact of governance structure, financing, and delivery systems.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand fundamental concepts in national health systems.
2. To review key lessons learned from ongoing innovations in health systems strengthening.
3. To review key challenges for health system strengthening for malaria.

This session included a formal presentation followed by a moderated discussion of the application of health systems thinking in malaria programs. Key insights on how malaria specific interventions can be tailored to specific health and social systems and in more generalized settings will be provided. Health systems strengthening efforts were also emphasized.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the principles of integrated approaches of malaria control and elimination interventions in different endemic settings with different health and social systems.
2. To develop an appreciation and understanding of key principles and practical approaches for integrated elimination efforts under health systems constraints.

Putting career mentorship and leadership development at the heart of major operations-improvement efforts have paid big dividends for many global industrial companies. This session explored current efforts to ‘future-proof’ the pipeline of malaria leaders in the coming years. Panelists discussed the specific characteristics and competencies of good leaders in the field of malaria, and the type(s) of mentorship and career development experiences that are needed across the various disciplines, work levels, and work settings. Together with participants, a broader discussion of challenges, barriers, cross-cutting competencies, and opportunities for mentorship, career advancement/mobility, and leadership development in the field of malaria were also explored.

Questions participants considered in advance of this session include: What are the encouraging signs of improvement and the trends that need to be supported for malaria control and eradication? What are the worrying signs and concerns about the future to achieving a shared goal of a malaria-free world? What is your vision and hope for the future? What role does mentorship and leadership play in shaping your goals and vision?

Learning Objectives:

1. To consider how malaria eradication efforts are different from other public health issues and how these differences affect the type of leaders needed in malaria.
2. To gain a better understanding of the types of experiences that would be useful for emerging leaders in malaria at different stages of their career development.
3. To consider the ways malaria leaders must be ready to work across disciplines and in a variety of different settings.
4. To identify what other cross-cutting competencies/skills are needed to become a leader in malaria control, elimination, and eradication.

Over the years, there has been strong leadership in the fight against malaria with a primary focus on reducing the burden of the disease. Global leadership has come from the World Health Organization (WHO), which established the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (then called “Roll Back Malaria”) in 1998; the United Nations (UN) established malaria as a target in the Millennium Development Goals; the Director General of the WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, echoed the call for eradication set by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2007; UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, called for stopping malaria deaths in 2008; African Ministers of Health adopted a WHO Regional Committee Resolution on “Accelerated Malaria Control, Towards Elimination;” President Kikwete of Tanzania launched the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance in 2009; and the African Heads of State and Government signed the Abuja Declaration and Plan of Action in 2010.

Today, malaria remains a major global health problem. At the same time, knowledge about the parasite, the insect vector, and the human host has rapidly expanded. As we integrate new knowledge of malaria with the active scale-up of global malaria control and eradication efforts, we must address related challenges in management, training, and leadership development for long-term success. Importantly, these challenges vary by setting and scope (e.g., skill levels of personnel, human resource scarcity in technical knowledge areas, etc.) and may require different approaches and solutions. During this session, participants discussed malaria eradication plans with respect to knowledge and skill requirements, specialized training, and short and long-term career development. Panelists focused on malaria training and career development gaps in the area of vector control and entomology, as well as across other disciplines.

Learning Objectives:

1. To consider current training needs and potential pathways to meet malaria training and career development gaps. in resource poor countries and/or regions.
2. To understand the skills needed to implement programs across the different phases of elimination.
3. To gain an appreciation and understanding of the relevance of integrated skill mixes for malaria eradication.

• Brazil: Marcia Castro and Cássio Peterka
• China: Xiao Hong Li, Guoding Zhu, and Winnie Yip
• Mozambique: Pedro Aide, Quique Bassat, and Silvia Pedro
• Senegal: Daouda Ndiaye, Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, and Sarah Volkman
• Sri Lanka: Deepika Fernando and Risintha Premaratne