MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
AusAID
Regional political leaders, scientists and health experts from the Asia-Pacific region will gather in Sydney from tomorrow to address the threat of malaria and emerging drug-resistance in the region.
Malaria 2012: Saving Lives in the Pacific is being co-hosted by Foreign Minister Bob Carr and United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria Ray Chambers.
The conference, which is being convened by AusAID, begins on Wednesday with two days of technical and policy discussion, culminating on Friday 2 November with a ministerial action meeting.
In 2010, there were more than 30 million malaria cases and around 42,000 deaths in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease disproportionately impacts on the poor and has major economic and social implications.
Australia's Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, James Gilling, said the gains made in controlling and eliminating malaria are being threatened by the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the disease, particularly in the Greater Mekong sub-region.
'If action is not taken now to prevent the spread of drug-resistant malaria beyond the Greater Mekong sub-region to India or Africa, a public health disaster would ensue and millions more lives will be at risk,' Mr Gilling said.
The Malaria 2012 conference will seek consensus on the actions needed to strengthen the region's response to malaria, leading to a coordinated and united regional approach to this major health issue.