Papua New Guinea joins APMEN as 18th Country Partner

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has joined the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) and strengthened the globally recognized push for the region to become malaria-free by 2030. PNG's new membership to the regional network provides the opportunity for the Pacific country to share new insights and challenges to working towards malaria elimination with other APMEN country partners. PNG also brings experience in partnering with the private sector in their malaria elimination efforts, which will be of great interest to its fellow APMEN country partners.

PNG has the highest number of confirmed cases in the Western Pacific region, with over 1.1 million confirmed cases and 307 deaths in 2013, according to the World Health Organization. The country aims to reverse the incidence of malaria by 2020.

APMEN brings together 18 countries in the Asia Pacific region that have adopted a national or sub-national goal for malaria elimination and connects them with a broad range of regional and global malaria partners to develop best practices in a united drive towards regional elimination. The Network is managed by a Joint-Secretariat led by the Global Health Group at the University of California, San Francisco, and the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland.

Read the media release: Papua New Guinea joins the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN)