Tenth South RCMF Regional Meeting was held on 17-18th October 2024 at Club Lounge, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dwarka, New Delhi, India with the participation of delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste
Dr Asela Gunawardena, Director General of Health Services, the Chairman Oversight Committee of Country Coordinating Mechanism participated on behalf of Sri Lanka.
The objectives of the meeting were as follows.
- To review the implementation status of SRCMF work plan
- To review the current status of cross-border malaria elimination in order to prioritise activities to accelerate malaria elimination on both sides of the international border through district health system strengthening.
- To apprise Member Countries for upcoming RBM’s Big Push strategy for elimination of malaria by 2030
- To apprise role of parliamentarians for malaria elimination with focus on cross-border districts
Dr Asela Gunawardena made a comprehensive presentation on Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The presentation highlighted the following.
- Current trends and status of the diseases burden
- Issues and challenges faced in prevention and control
- Priority areas to strengthen district health systems
The success story of malaria in Sri Lanka, the disease burden of malaria from 2012 to September 2024, the post elimination challenges the country is facing together with the strategies adopting for sustaining financial stability and planning for continuity were among the highlights of the presentation.
