Report of the third Global Forum of malaria-eliminating countries

Overview

WHO convened representatives of 21 countries with the potential to eliminate malaria by 2020 (the E-2020) at the third Global Forum of Malaria-eliminating Countries, in Wuxi, China, on 18–20 June 2019. Representatives of the national malaria programmes of the ministries of health of 20 of the 21 E-2020 countries attended the 3-day meeting. The other participants were representatives from Argentina, Armenia, Philippines, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu; WHO country, regional and headquarters staff and observers from major donors. A large delegation from China also participated as observers.

Countries described their progress towards elimination and the challenges in achieving this goal. Several technical presentations were made by WHO staff, including on a new pilot programme to provide subnational support for malaria elimination, STOP-Malaria; the Global Malaria Programme’s policy pathway; and certification procedures. As in 2018, the Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee attended the Global Forum and made recommendations to help countries achieve elimination. Several countries reported significant progress towards elimination: for the first time, Cabo Verde, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia and Timor-Leste reported 0 indigenous cases since the beginning of 2018, while China and El Salvador maintained their malaria-free status. Eswatini, Saudi Arabia and South Africa reported large reductions in the number of cases in 2018 as compared with 2017. Certification of Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free was celebrated at an evening ceremony.