s): Malaria in the six countries around the Mekong River in Southeast Asia remains a serious problem in certain high risk pockets. Major strides have been made to reduce the burden of malaria in the region, and it is imperative that this progress is not lost. Drug resistance is a constant threat with the most resistant malaria in the world found here. A key necessity for tracking progress of control, responding rapidly to outbreaks and avoiding the consequences of spreading drug resistance is to have ready access to reliable information. The goal of this project is to support countries and partners in the Greater Mekong Sub-region to put in place a robust, reliable and recent evidence base, which is continuously updated and used by the countries to refine and improve their control strategies and to mobilize resources. The Malaria Consortium will address the need through the following three specific aims: 1. Contribute to developing a comprehensive updated base of evidence on malaria burden (epidemiological, economic and social) and drug use to improve access and rational use;2. Develop efficient systems for ongoing information management;3. Develop regional capacity for long-term evidence collection and use for policy development and program implementation. It will achieve its aims by supporting surveys and routine data collection, improving and adapting means of obtaining information, promoting relevant research which will be rapidly taken up by practitioners and undertaking an innovative training program.
