Our Key Malaria Achievements in Greater Mekong Sub-region 25.04.2020

On this World Malaria Day, marked each year on 25th April, we would like to highlight our continued commitment and the key results we delivered to date towards the elimination of malaria in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The Regional Artemisinin-Resistance Initiative Towards Elimination of Malaria (RAI2E) is a programme that aims to escalate progress towards elimination of malaria in Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand.

RAI2E supports increased malaria service coverage for remote populations in border areas and other at-risk populations, as well as case management through community health volunteers and strengthening of national surveillance systems. RAI2E is a continuation and extension of the Regional Artemisinin-Initiative (RAI) programme, which in 2014-2017 worked to tackle drug resistant strains of malaria in the GMS.

Between 2014 and 2019 in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, the RAI/RAI2E programme contributed the following towards the elimination of malaria;

  • 27.8 million people tested for malaria 
  • 700,000+ people treated for malaria 
  • 21.4 million Insecticide-treated bed nets distributed 
  • 33,000+ volunteers trained and Malaria posts established 

In 2019 only, the RAI2E programme contributed the following in the GMS.

The Global Fund has financed both RAI2E and RAI, and has provided a total of USD 358 million to fight malaria in GMS between 2014 and 2020. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is the Global Fund’s principal recipient for RAI/RAI2E. UNOPS is also a principal recipient for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis activities in Myanmar, as well as for a regional grant that targets tuberculosis among migrants in GMS.