Add us as your preferred source on Google to see more of our content in Search.
Add to Preferred SourcesThe Dhanin Tawee Chearavanont Foundation became the first private sector partner to support the Global Fund’s largest regional initiative to eliminate drug-resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong.
With a contribution of US$2 million over two years, the Thai-based private family foundation will support the Global Fund’s Regional Artemisinin resistance Initiative (RAI). RAI was launched in 2014 to counter the growing threat of drug-resistant malaria in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam with the aim of eliminating the most dangerous strain of the disease by 2025. The contribution will increase the detection of malaria cases and surveillance of hard-to-reach, mobile and migrant populations living along the Thai border.
“Drug resistance in the Greater Mekong threatens to become a devastating setback for the region’s malaria elimination efforts, and risks becoming a major shock to health security if it goes global,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund.
RAI identifies where the hotspots are and invests in strengthening health centers with benefits beyond malaria prevention. The initiative also supports a network of village and mobile malaria workers to reach the most vulnerable in villages and forests, far removed from health services, with malaria prevention tools – mosquito nets, malaria tests and preventive treatment.
With the foundation’s grant, non-governmental organizations working with migrants will be able to increase detection of malaria cases, strengthen the monitoring of resistance to malaria medicines in the border provinces, and expand the distribution of prevention and treatment of malaria in the most vulnerable populations – pregnant women and children – in Tak province.
In providing this support, Dhanin Tawee Chearavanont Foundation is working with the Global Fund, partners, and regional leaders to establish Indo China Health Partnerships to mobilize resources to tackle malaria and other threats to health and well-being, prioritizing urgent needs.
Original source: The Global Fund
Published on 25 April 2019