About us
- appropriate malaria policies and standards based on data from malaria programme implementation by Member States and malaria control partners as well as reviews of the best available evidence;
- engagement of WHO in malaria-related initiatives;
- major issues and challenges to achieving global malaria goals; and
- identification of priority activities to address identified challenges.
Background
The scale-up of malaria control efforts, coupled with major investments in malaria research, has produced impressive public health impact in a number of countries. Although progress has recently stalled, the development of new tools and strategies to further accelerate progress have highlighted a growing need for WHO to rapidly review increasing amounts of evidence and update technical recommendations.
The MPAG was established following an extensive review of the policy-setting process for malaria control and elimination, initiated by GMP. The process was conducted with the help of a specially convened external advisory group who reviewed previous and existing departmental policy processes and successful policy models from other WHO departments. It was this group that proposed the concept and architecture of a permanent strategic advisory body. The MPAG’s inaugural meeting was held in January 2012.
GMP guidelines development groups
GMP will convene up to 8 guideline development groups (GDG) in 2020-2021 to review evidence and develop new and updated policy recommendations across a number of technical areas. The first groups to be convened will review evidence for vector control, elimination, chemoprevention and treatment. An editorial working group (EWG) has been convened to help ensure the consistency and coherence of the recommendations emerging from the different GDGs.
Members
Professor of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira (FMUG), Sudan
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Director, Centre for Malaria Research, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana
Emeritus Professor, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Professor of Epidemiology and Director, Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Immunologist in the Department of Infection Biology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Director, Center for Malaria Therapeutics and Antimicrobial Resistance, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Columbia University Medical Center, USA
Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics at Redeemer’s University, and Director of ACEGID in Ede, Nigeria
Emeritus Scientist, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, India
Senior Technical Officer at Malaria Group, Ministry of Health, Brazil
Associate professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kindgom
President of the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research, Brazzaville, Congo
Public Health Researcher and Director of Science at Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, United Republic of Tanzania
Chair in Child Health Research, University of Western Australia and The Kids Research Institute, Australia
Regional Malaria Director, MACEPA/PATH, Mozambique
Former head of the public health department of the Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Burkina Faso
Richard Pearson Strong Professor, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, United States of America
Membership
The MPAG is an expert group comprised of 16 members. It is currently chaired by Professor Dyann Wirth, Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health.
MPAG members serve in an independent and personal capacity and represent a broad range of disciplines, expertise, and experience encompassing many aspects of malaria control and elimination. They are malariologists with a broad view of the interplay between scientific, political, economic and financial considerations. Members of MPAG, including the Chairperson, have been appointed to serve for an initial term of up to 4 years, renewable once, for an additional period of up to 4 years.
Prior to being appointed as MPAG members and prior to renewal of term, nominees are subject to conflict of interest assessment by WHO based on information they have disclosed on the WHO Declaration of Interest (DOI) form. In addition, MPAG members have
an ongoing obligation throughout their tenure to inform WHO of any changes to the information they have disclosed on the DOI form. Summaries of relevant disclosed interests that may be perceived to give rise to real or apparent conflicts of interest
are noted in MPAG reports and are made public as appropriate.
Roles and responsibilities of MPAG members
The MPAG has no executive or regulatory function; its role is to provide advice and recommendations to the WHO Director-General.
Members of the MPAG have a responsibility to provide WHO with high-quality, well considered, evidence-informed advice and recommendations on matters described in the Terms of Reference. Members play a critical role in ensuring the reputation of MPAG as an internationally recognized policy advisory committee in the field of malaria. MPAG members are occasionally approached by non-WHO sources for their views, comments and statements on particular matters of public health concern and asked to state the views of MPAG or of details related to MPAG discussions. MPAG members have been asked to refer all such enquiries to GMP.