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Good morning. It’s an honour for me to speak at this event ahead of World Malaria Day, although of course I wish I could be with you in person.
Viet Nam has a lot to celebrate on World Malaria Day. Great progress has been made over the past few years and by maintaining this momentum –– I believe we can achieve elimination by 2030, if not before.
The theme of World Malaria Day this year is: “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement.” Viet Nam’s malaria control efforts embody all these areas, especially the implementation efforts to reach people most at risk.
Viet Nam has a marvellous network of health care workers doing just this – people like Ly Thi Nhieu, who works at Pa U commune health centre in Lai Chau. As the centre’s acting director, she stays on call 24-7. She juggles multiple needs, ranging from malaria and midwifery to routine immunizations and HIV prevention. In her malaria work, she makes monthly village visits to conduct testing, with trips to some of the villages she visits taking at least three hours by motorbike.
It is this level of dedication, supported by national and regional structures, that is crucial to achieving zero malaria.
Viet Nam’s progress so far has been impressive. From 2018 to 2021, malaria cases reduced by 90%. And there are four main reasons for this:
Firstly, decades of strong leadership from all levels of government, including through the National Malaria Control Programme, which has been supported and funded by the government since it was established in the early 1990s.
Secondly, Viet Nam has a strong malaria prevention and control system. As well as the three Institutes of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology in North, South and Central regions, until late 2020 almost all malaria-endemic provinces had centres for malaria control and prevention.
And in these areas, these structures are complemented by focal points at the district and commune levels.
Thirdly, Viet Nam has taken a cross-sectoral approach. I would like to particularly mention the role of the Viet Nam People’s Army Military Medical Department in border areas, and also in protecting their own personnel from malaria and preventing them bringing it home from peacekeeping and other operations abroad.
And finally, Viet Nam has demonstrated its ability to use donor funding very effectively. Many partners have contributed, including The Global Fund, the US President’s Malaria Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. So today is also an opportunity to say thank you to these partners for their steadfast support.
At WHO, we are also proud to have worked side-by-side with the national and regional institutes, and focal points at GDPM in the Ministry of Health and at the provincial level.
Now we need to draw on this strong foundation of partnership and collaboration to finish the job.
Between October and December 2022, Viet Nam reported 116 cases, a 21% increase on the same period in 2021 – so we cannot afford to be complacent.
We will need to work really hard in the next few years to reach the last mile, ensuring we keep our focus on reaching the remotest communities like forest goers, with prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
WHO will of course continue to support Viet Nam in this historic fight towards zero malaria.
Together we can get this done.
Happy World Malaria Day!
Xin cảm ơn!