Responding to Migrants’ Vulnerability to Malaria and Understanding the Migration and Epidemiology of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in Binh Phuoc Province, Viet Nam
Duration: 21 months, Nov 2014 – July 2016
Location: Binh Phuoc province
Donor/Funding source: IOM Development Fund
Implementing partner: Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology
Objectives/Brief description of project: This project proposes to enhance the knowledge base on vulnerabilities to malaria and artemisinin resistance as related to population mobility in Binh Phuoc Province in Viet Nam. There will be a comprehensive assessment of the impact of population mobility and migration in malaria-endemic areas and recommendations for targeted interventions addressing the nexus between mobility and the spread of malaria.
The gains made towards the elimination of malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are being threatened by the emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases, particularly in the border areas. The high rates of mobility and migration in the GMS make the increase in artemisinin resistance more challenging to suppress as research has shown that mobile populations are more vulnerable to contracting and spreading malaria.
However, inadequate data collection systems and the difficulty of collecting data on mobile populations in the GMS have resulted in a lack of complete data on mobility and, as a result, possible increased vulnerability to malaria in some areas. This ultimately inhibits efforts to prevent, treat and track malaria in Viet Nam which does not track population mobility in combination with artemisinin resistance.
The ERAR Regional Framework 2013-15 notes that “not enough is known about the patterns of movement, living, employment and health care seeking behavior of migrants across the GMS despite their potential importance to the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance”. It recommends that countries improve the collection and use of data in order to target and tailor operations and reduce wastage of resources. In this light, it is also important to understand any gender dimension of artemisinin resistance and malaria vulnerability in the GMS.