VIENTIANE, Mar 8 (NNN-KPL) – The Department of Communicable Disease Control, under Lao Ministry of Health, working in partnership with Health and Population Services International, received new funding, to assist pharmacies and clinics to eliminate malaria in Laos.
In the Laotian capital, Vientiane, this work is being led by the Greater Mekong Subregion Elimination of Malaria through Surveillance project, with financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The foundation provided more than 1.19 million U.S. dollars, to Population Services International, to finance the work of the Department of Communicable Disease Control and the Centre of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology.
According to a report by local daily, Vientiane Times, today, the grant will support the strengthening of the public sector, pharmacies, and clinics, to control and accelerate malaria elimination in the provinces of Savannakhet, Champasak, Saravan, Sekong and Attapeu.
Deputy Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ratsamy Vongkhamsao, and acting Country Director of Population Services International Laos, Saysana Phanalasy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the control and elimination of the disease here.
Malaria is a threat to the people of Laos and many other countries. Every year, people in the five southern provinces of Laos contract malaria, Ratsamy said.
“We would like to continue to ask for assistance at a time when Laos is facing economic difficulties, as well as, dealing with the continuing threat of COVID-19,” she added.
The project aims to support the government’s strategy to eliminate malaria in Laos by 2030, by integrating pharmacies and clinics into national surveillance systems, planning, and management structures.– NNN-KPL
