Background
Vector control remains an effective and critical measure to prevent malaria transmission in Asia Pacific countries. The vector control measures focused on domestic settings—such as use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS)—may not be adequate in malaria elimination efforts. New technologies, and more targeted approaches that take local epidemiology into account, are required to address the unique transmission environments within the Asia Pacific region. Vector control approaches and methods also vary considerably in their applicability, cost and sustainability of their results.
APMEN aims to strengthen entomological capacity and resources for vector control, and to consolidate approaches to address other vector-borne diseases, in which, APMEN’s Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) has been supporting research, training and advocacy to address the vector control priorities of countries in the region.
Objectives
The VCWG’s objectives are:
- To advocate for the level of vector control capacity at regional and country level required to attain and maintain malaria elimination.
- To stimulate, and where possible coordinate, operational research to support the implementation of solutions to the unique vector control challenges faced by Asia Pacific countries.
- To review current vector control strategies, interventions and their effectiveness in various operational and epidemiological settings to: identify challenges for effective vector control implementation in different country programs; and establish what works, where—especially within vulnerable and mobile populations.
Functions
APMEN's VCWG supports information exchange between vector control experts and national programmes of Asia Pacific countries, and identification of solutions to the challenges faced in the region. The main achievements include two-week “Vector Surveillance for Malaria Elimination” course, in collaboration with an appropriately-skilled and located partner institution. Besides, APMEN could provide sponsorship of four competitively-selected participants to attend a six-month course for the Diploma in Applied Parasitology and Entomology (DAP&E) presented by the Institute for Medical Research in Malaysia. A specialized and targeted website “Online Research Network for Entomologists” (ORENE) has created and it is a repository for vector control information resources and sharing.
Governance and Coordination Team
The APMEN Vector Control Working Group is currently supported by a coordinating team from the Malaria Consortium.
Dr Muhammad Mukhtar is Director at Directorate of Malaria Control (DoMC), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC), Govt. of Pakistan with prime responsibility of overall management of program including to develop national policy, strategy and guidelines for malaria and other Vector-Borne Diseases Control. He is also national Focal Person for Vector-Borne Diseases; Public Health Pesticides management; Integrated Vector Management (IVM) and for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Currently, he is a member of WHO Prequalification Team (PQT) for Vector Control Products Assessment and also Core Member of Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP)-Geneva and RBM Vector Control Working Group -Geneva. He designed and developed a variety of national policy, strategic documents, and guidelines for the Vector-Borne Diseases Control.
Leo is employed by Malaria Consortium as Senior Vector Control Specialist and is based in Bangkok. Leo has extensive experience in malaria control mostly in Africa, and has also spent considerable time as an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa doing research on malaria vector feeding and biting behaviour. He now spends his time about equally on dengue and malaria vector control in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Poe Poe is a research scientist with a medical background, having more than 15-year experience in working public health research and interventions. She graduated from the Institute of Medicine 1 in Yangon, has a Masters in Public Health from Melbourne University, and is currently completing a PhD in Health Economics with Maastricht University.
Poe Poe is currently working as a Regional Representative and Technical Specialist at Malaria Consortium, based in Bangkok, Thailand. Before joining Malaria Consortium Poe Poe worked with the Duke Global Health Institute Myanmar, Duke University and the University of Maryland as Myanmar Program Manager, overseeing the multi-country programs across Myanmar, Bangladesh and China. She also worked with the Burnet Institute Myanmar and led the Research and M&E team. Prior to this she worked as a Research Officer with the Myanmar MoH for five years in the Department of Medical Research.
Her areas of interest include malaria, dengue, filariasis, HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent reproductive health, and maternal and child health. She has published ten times, and serves as the reviewer for PLOS One, BMC Public Health and GeoHealth journals.
Wulan has been working for Malaria Consortium Asia since 2021 as a Technical Officer based in Bangkok office. She was awarded 'Dr Sylvia Meek Scholarship for Entomology' in 2018 and continued her master's degree at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine Mahidol University. She then obtained MSc in Tropical Medicine with the track in Parasitology and Medical Entomology in 2020. Wulan spends her free time actively involved in a Public Health non-profit organisation focused on digital health promotion and literacy for public health students in Indonesia.