The Regional Artemisinin-Resistance Initiative Towards Elimination of Malaria (RAI3E) is a programme that aims to escalate progress towards eliminating malaria in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. Along with the other countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, Thailand pledged to eliminate Plasmodium falciparum by 2023 and all forms of malaria by 2030.
Read more to find out about some of the activities conducted by our sub-recipients in Thailand.
ALIGHT Thailand
Since the political instability in Myanmar, there has been high population movement on the border with Thailand. Despite COVID-19 measures and border closures, people have tried to enter Thailand to seek jobs and personal security. One of our sub-recipients, ALIGHT, is working closely with the government, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and communities to provide necessary health services.
From 23 to 25 March 2023, ALIGHT participated in health screening for migrant workers who came across Three Pagodas Pass to work in the district near the Thai–Myanmar border. A total of 2,565 migrant workers were provided services including chest X-ray, malaria examination with thick blood film, physical examination, drug test to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs and medicine to prevent filariasis.
In this collaboration between government, the private sector and civil society organizations, ALIGHT participated by setting up blood testing points to detect malaria for all workers undergoing health screening. Migrant people have shown enthusiasm for activities like passing on basic knowledge about malaria and a game where players can answer questions and win prizes.
Due to the involvement of all of these sectors, the event successfully achieved its goals, with 2,564 migrant workers participating in health screening.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) Thailand
The risk of malaria in border and rural areas is among the highest in Thailand, with the rainy season being the peak season for infections. The ongoing risk of malaria, spread through the bite of an infected female mosquito, calls for continuous attention to the knowledge and skills of people for preventing the disease. IRC Thailand works with community members to equip them with knowledge and tools to prevent, identify, mitigate and cure malaria in temporary shelters along the Thailand–Myanmar border.
IRC has been conducting malaria elimination strategies guided by the national programme, including the 1–3–7 strategy, which is an approach that targets reporting of confirmed cases within one day, investigation of specific cases within three days, and targeted control measures to prevent further transmission within seven days. IRC has also been providing directly observed treatment and follow-up in temporary shelter settings since the start of RAI3E project, funded by the Global Fund.
In the first quarter of 2023, IRC conducted refresher training for community-based assistants to 1) relearn technical knowledge on malaria, 2) keep up to date on key activities and messages, and 3) provide a space for questions and discussion among participants. Training community-based assistants is just one of the pathways to positively impact the knowledge of malaria and health services within the targeted area. According to participants’ feedback, more than 95% agreed that they benefited from training, as it provided in-depth knowledge on malaria.
Raks Thai Foundation
Working to eliminate malaria under the RAI3E project in the target areas, Raks Thai Foundation aims to mobilize the cooperation of all sectors at all levels in the province to participate in malaria elimination together.
At the community level, Raks Thai focuses on developing community members to participate in solving the local malaria problem. Raks Thai builds the capacity of community malaria volunteers with knowledge about malaria prevention, along with developing their malaria risk communication skills, and supports them to conduct malaria group activities by themselves under the supervision of Raks Thai staff.
It also supports volunteers to run the activities in hard-to-reach population groups, such as workers in rubber plantations and migrant workers in the border area of Sisaket Province, to educate them on how to protect themselves from malaria and to know where to go for malaria diagnosis and treatment in the area.
Raks Thai also works with the health authority at the district level on active case detection to be able to find malaria cases faster. When there is a malaria case, Raks Thai volunteers follow up and supervise malaria treatment as recommended by public health officials.
With the facilitation of community leaders, Raks Thai volunteers and staff place vinyl posters about malaria in hard-to-reach or border areas to keep people informed about malaria.
World Vision Foundation of Thailand (WVFT)
World Vision Foundation of Thailand (WVFT) has been working together with Vector-Borne Diseases Control Units (VBDUs) in Tak Province to control the spread of malaria along the Thailand–Myanmar border. To align with the national malaria guidelines, WVFT supports the day seven activity foci investigation of the 1–3–7 approach.
WVFT’s trained migrant health volunteers (MHVs) conduct malaria education sessions to notify community members when a malaria case has been identified in their village. In addition, MHVs conduct health education sessions to emphasize how the disease spreads, how it can be prevented, and how important it is for people to get tested for malaria for early detection and treatment.
WVFT’s MHVs were recruited from the local communities and form a network with community leaders in the area. MHVs coordinate with community leaders and prepare the community before an event. This builds trust and better understanding among community members. As a result, at-risk villagers and undocumented migrants residing in the community come forward for malaria testing. Often, the staff and MHVs have to work at night because the villagers work on farms during the day. With everyone working together, villages have successfully controlled malaria transmission.
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