Distinguished colleagues
Dr Newman, Director of the Global Malaria Programme,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good morning, and welcome to Manila.
Let me start by congratulating you on the first two years of implementation of the Regional Plan of Action for Malaria Control and Elimination in the Western Pacific.
I am pleased to see there have been some significant successes.
As you will recall, in 2009, the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific endorsed the Plan of Action as a road map to guide national malaria programmes and to monitor implementation.
The plan also serves a double purpose as a tool for advocacy and resource mobilization.
Over the past two years, significant progress has been made in all 10 malaria-endemic countries in our Region.
Five of those countries have updated their national malaria strategies, so that altogether nine are now aiming for malaria elimination.
I am encouraged by the way you have employed innovative strategies to scale up access to malaria interventions, especially for vulnerable populations such as migrants.
Surveillance has also been strengthened, sizable resources have been mobilized for country programmes, and partnerships have been expanded.
The results are there for all to see.
I understand, for instance, that malaria-related deaths dropped by 15% in 2010 from the year before.
This is excellent news, and I congratulate all those involved in making this happen.
These achievements were made possible thanks to firm political commitment, strong technical assistance and unprecedented financial support from our donor agencies and development partners.
To them, we say thank you.
Now the challenge is to sustain the gains we have made in order to meet our targets for 2015, including the malaria-related Millennium Development Goals 1, 4, 5, and 6.
As you exchange views here this week, I urge you to learn from one another and absorb the many useful lessons of the past two years.
These lessons will help turn plans into results.
To eliminate malaria, programme re-orientation is critical, and management capacity must be strengthened.
In addition to other interventions, diagnosis of all cases must be quality assured – which is why quality assurance of diagnosis has its own place on this week's agenda.
It is my job to report back to the next Regional Committee on progress in the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action.
So I look forward to hearing about the results of this week's deliberations.
I hope you have a productive meeting and a pleasant stay in Manila.
Thank you.