RDMA (Regional Development Mission for Asia)

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) extended its support to the Greater Mekong Sub-region (Burma, Cambodia, China [Yunnan Province], Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand, and Vietnam) in 2011. With support from PMI and its partners, malaria control interventions are being implemented in Thailand and Laos and vital commodities are being distributed to vulnerable populations. In Thailand and Laos, PMI has supported Ministries of Health and malaria partners through procurement of malaria commodities, technical assistance in commodity forecasting and supply planning, and monitoring and reporting on the stock status of malaria products, including artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs).  

In Thailand and Laos, the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project will support PMI through two primary objectives:

• Assistance with logistics and tracking for malaria commodities purchased by partners
• Global and country collaboration to improve long-term availability of health commodities, especially in strengthening supply chain management to meet country needs and reduce commodities gaps

GHSC-PSM will support a Malaria Supply Chain Management Advisor in Bangkok (sharing office space with Thailand’s Bureau of Vector Borne Diseases) to work with regional stakeholders and partners on improving malaria supply chain management. This person will also serve as a focal point and clearinghouse for malaria commodity information and act as a resource for National Malaria Control Programs and PMI’s implementing partners.

• artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs)
• malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs)

Key activities in Thailand and Laos include:

• Provide technical training and assistance on malaria supply chain management to local counterparts, identifying areas for improvement and capacity building where necessary
• Manage relationships and maintain routine communications with relevant Ministries of Health, PMI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and other program stakeholders to ensure smooth operations of malaria initiatives in Thailand and Laos
• Work with the Ministry of Public Health (Thailand), Ministry of Health (Laos), PMI’s implementing partners, and other malaria stakeholders to develop regular national forecasting and supply planning procedures and identify malaria commodities gaps
• Monitor commodity procurements for malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and improve visibility into the malaria commodity supply chain by reporting on current distribution practices and stock levels. This information will be used in compiling annual supply planning data and will feed into seasonal forecasting. Findings and recommendations will be shared with all supply chain stakeholders.