Introduction

The Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) is a sustainable, collaborative network for the delivery of technical malaria expertise and uses a brokering approach to connect national malaria control programs (NMCPs) with relevant technical information. APMEN is now operating under a new strategic plan that positions APMEN and APLMA as critical parts of an integrated regional platform committed to achieving malaria elimination. The new strategic plan is designed to facilitate more effective and efficient APMEN support to develop regional and country-level capacity to achieve elimination targets. 

APMEN Working Groups

APMEN has 3 Working Groups (Vector Control, Vivax and Surveillance & Response) that represent the core of APMEN’s technical expertise. These Working Groups were established to coordinate and advocate for capacity strengthening at the national and regional level, identify knowledge gaps and coordinate operational research on questions directly related to malaria control and elimination. The Working Groups also shared the common objectives of providing a platform to share research and operational experience between APMEN Country partners and to develop partnerships with key stakeholders involved in regional, national and sub-national elimination efforts.

Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Malaria Consortium and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) will host the APMEN Surveillance & Response Working Group (SRWG), Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) and Vivax Working Group (VxWG) respectively starting from January 2021 to December 2022.

Governance

Each Working Group is hosted by an APMEN partner institution and will be led by a Chair and Co-Chair.  We invite nominations from high-level Government officials (current or previous), from APMEN country partners to serve as Chair for each of the Working Groups.

The Chairs are voluntary positions and there is no remuneration associated with these positions.  The Chairs are elected for a two-year term, and they may be re-elected up to a maximum of two consecutive terms. 

The Chair will be expected to engage, on average, for 2 days per month. Once possible, travel to the APMEN Working Group meeting and other regional meetings will be required. An honorarium and support for travel-related costs to meetings will be provided.

The Chair will be supported by a Co-Chair, nominated from the institution that is hosting the Working Group.  For the period 2021-22, the Co-Chair for the VCWG will be from Malaria Consortium, VxWG from MMV and SRWG will be from MORU.

Nomination and election process

APMEN country partners have the right to nominate officials or can be self-nominated. We strongly encourage female applicants and applications from all parts of Asia Pacific for these positions. The Chair will be elected by the Working Group members through confidential ballot managed by the Secretariat.  

Government officials from Ministries of Health and National Malaria Programs interested in chairing any of the APMEN Working Groups are requested to send a Nomination to the APMEN Secretariat (pshein@aplma.org) by February 15, 2021 (the deadline has further extended to March 05, 2021). The nomination should contain as below.

• Government affiliation and contact details of nominee
• Intended Working Group to be chaired
• Brief description of the goals and expectations of the nominee for the Working Group

Functions of the Chairs

• Responsible for stewardship of the Working Group, including oversight and planning of Working Group activities in accordance with stated aims and objectives 
• Chair effective Working Group meetings, including by providing inputs into the development of meeting agenda and reviewing meeting minutes 
• Foster coordination and exchange of information among all members of the Working Group 
• Sharing research and operational experience between APMEN Country Partners to maximise synergistic activities and minimise unnecessary duplication
• Advocating for funding for catalytic research projects to address key knowledge gaps, and facilitating their implementation, analysis and feedback to the Network.
• Represent the Working Group at APMEN and other external meetings
• Ensure adequate, balanced representation of relevant parties in the Working Group 
• Participate in quarterly coordination meetings between the Working Groups, chaired by APMEN Senior Director 
• Promote strategic linkages and collaboration with other regional networks to advance the objectives of the Working Groups and APMEN as a whole 

If you would like to discuss the role of the Chair or understand in more detail the objectives of a particular Working Group, please contact us at pshein@aplma.org.