Led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) supports the Lao Ministry of Health (MOH) and malaria partners in the procurement, supply chain management, and monitoring of malaria commodities, such as long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), and malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). Through the Global Health Supply Chain – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project, USAID assists Lao PDR to fill malaria commodity gaps and provides technical assistance for supply chain management in support of the goal of eliminating malaria by 2030.
Ensuring availability of and access to malaria commodities for early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention activities among those most at risk for malaria, particularly migrant workers, pregnant women, children, ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable populations, is one of the key strategies for malaria elimination and aligns with PMI’s strategic priority of reaching the unreached.
Forecasting needs and filling the gaps
The project coordinates with MOH’s Center for Malariology, Parasitology, and Entomology, implementing partners and donors during annual and quarterly forecasting exercises and provides technical assistance to identify and fill gaps in commodities supply chains.
Assistance with the logistics and tracking of malaria commodities
GHSC-PSM manages the procurement, tracking, and timely delivery of LLINs, RDTs, and essential antimalarial drugs, including ACTs and Primaquine, from point of origin to the country.
Improved data collection and monitoring for effective planning
GHSC-PSM also helps to monitor commodity pipelines for effective planning and supply chain decision-making. The project focuses on monitoring the availability of critical malaria commodities at the central level and provides recommendations and corrective actions to prevent stockouts.
IMPACTS AND RESULTS
Since 2012, USAID/PMI has donated over 1 million LLINs, 1 million RDTs, 200,000 Primaquine 7.5mg tablets, and 71,690 ACTs to fill commodity gaps in Lao PDR. This support has been critical in providing ongoing protection for the most vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers and communities living in high-risk areas.
By filling commodity gaps through coordination with the Lao government and other development partners and ensuring the availability of and access to life-saving malaria commodities, Lao PDR saw a 14% decrease in the deadliest form of malaria from 2020 to 2021 and a decline in malaria deaths from six (6) in 2018 to only one (1) in 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Lao PDR was able to screen 641,594 people for malaria, which is 10% higher than the 576,503 tests performed in 2020.
