APMEN IV 2012
The fourth annual APMEN Technical and Business Meeting (APMEN IV) was held on the 7-10 May, 2012 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. 
APMEN IV was composed of Business and Technical Meetings as well as a bi-annual Advisory Board meeting. Preceding APMEN IV was the annual Vivax and Vector Control Working Group meetings, held on May 6-7 in Incheon, Republic of Korea.
APMEN IV was attended by the meeting’s Host Country Co-Chair, Dr Byung-Yool Jun, Director of Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC), Dr Hye-Kyung Park, Director of Division of Communicable Disease Control, KCDC and Dr Myeong-Chan Cho, General Director, Korea National Institute of Health. APMEN was also honored to have in attendance Dr Hoon-Sang Lee, Health Specialist and representative from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). They joined more than 85 representatives from 11 of APMEN’s Country Partners (Bhutan, Cambodia China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vanuatu) as well as from regional partners from the academic, development, non-governmental and private sectors, as well representatives from the Network’s global partner the World Health Organization (WHO). APMEN welcomed both Vietnam and Brunei who attended the meeting as observer countries.
APMEN IV celebrated the major progress in malaria control and elimination that has been documented in the Asia Pacific region, a global leader in malaria elimination. The issue of antimalarial drug (artemisinin) resistance threat to regional stability and continued economic growth was a focal point of the meeting. New APMEN Country Partner Cambodia brought a front-line perspective of the battle against antimalarial resistance, sharing evidence on key strategies that have been used. The meeting also included a focus on the importation of malaria, another common issue that faces all APMEN countries. The meeting theme of “Efficiency in Elimination” was adopted, which reflected the urgent global need to maintain and expand malaria programs, in spite of substantial funding shortages related to the global financial crisis. The Network reaffirmed its commitment to work together to share experiences on malaria elimination and to continue the collaborative research projects, capacity building activities and advocacy efforts.
The APMEN priorities for the next two years were discussed:
- Reduce spread and eliminate artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum by aiming for a P. falciparum-free Mekong Delta starting with Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam;
- Increase the effectiveness of surveillance and response systems for malaria case detection and treatment;
- Meet the challenges of diagnosing and treating P. vivax; and
- Sustain gains made malaria control and ensure financial and political support for malaria elimination in the region.
APMEN would like to thank the Korea Centers for Disease Control's organising team (Dr Won Ja Lee and Dr Jung-Yeon Kim and their staff), UQ Secretariat team (Professor Maxine Whittaker, Ms Arna Chancellor, Ms Amanda Lee and Ms Linda Skiller), GHG Secretariat team (Dr Roly Gosling, Ms Cara Smith Gueye and Ms Hyunju Woo), the Vivax Coordinating team (Dr Ric Price, Dr Lorenz von Seidlein, Ms Kylie Mannion and Dr Sarah Auburn) and Ms Sue Jin Kim and the team at BMD, for their support and hard work in the smooth running of these meetings.
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APMEN IV Links
Overview of the meeting proceedings and download presentations
Meeting summary notes
Business Meeting minutes
Advisory Board Meeting minutes
Vivax Working Group Meeting
Vector Control Working Group Meeting
APMEN IV Media Release