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Group photo at the special meeting of the Malaria
Technical and Strategy Group (TSG) at Sedona Hotel, Yangon.
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A special meeting of the Malaria Technical and Strategy
Group (TSG) was convened by the Department of Health in collaboration with
the WHO Country Office, 19 - 20 February 2008. The objectives of the meeting
were:
 To review the progress, issues and challenges
in the implementation of the national malaria treatment policy in Myanmar adopted
in September 2002.
To review the current evidence on the efficacy
of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for
uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria and the
efficacy of parenteral drugs for severe and
complicated malaria in Myanmar.
To update the current national malaria
treatment policy and recommend it to the Ministry of Health for official
adoption and implementation.
A total of 40 experts from the Departments of Health
(DOH), Medical Research and Medical Science,
Defense Medical Services, Myanmar Academy of Medical Science, Myanmar
Medical Association, International
NGOs, JICA, UNICEF (Myanmar) and WHO (Headquarters, South-East Asia Regional
Office and Country Office in Myanmar) participated in the meeting. A special invitee was Dr. Wichai Satimai, Director,
Vector Borne Diseases Control (VBDC), Department of Disease Control, Ministry
of Public Health (Thailand);
he shared lessons from Thailand.
Two representatives from UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and three
representatives from private pharmaceutical companies were present as
observers. Dr Saw Lwin, Director, Disease Control, Department of Health
chaired the meeting.
Prior to the special meeting, Dr. Leonard Ortega (WHO
Medical Officer/Malaria) and Dr Than Win (Deputy Director, VBDC, DOH)
convened the case management working group of the malaria TSG three times at
WHO. The working group discussed the
evidence on the efficacy of various ACTs in Myanmar and
in other countries and the lessons learned in the implementation of ACT as first
line treatment of P. falciparum malaria since its
adoption in September 2002.
The salient features of the updated malaria treatment
policy are: (1) treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum
malaria throughout the country with either (a) artemether-lumefantrine,
(b) artesunate-mefloquine, or (c) dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine,
(2) parenteral artesunate
as first line treatment for severe malaria, (3) chloroquine
for treatment of other species of malaria, and (4) recommendations on
treatment failures, pre-referral treatment, treatment of malaria in
pregnancy, chemoprophylaxis and stand by curative treatment. Policy statements regarding malaria
diagnosis, financing, training, quality assurance, research, monitoring and
evaluation are also included to support the implementation of the updated
malaria treatment policy.
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