Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Margaret Chan, at the launch of the Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance Containment in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 January 2011, issued the following statement:

Protecting our best weapon in treating malaria

The report we are launching today sets out a high-level plan to protect our most potent weapon in treating malaria, the artemisinins. These medicines are the key ingredient of artemisinin-based combination therapy, or ACTs.

ACTs are the gold standard. They are the most effective treatment for falciparum malaria, the most deadly form of malaria.

Combination therapy is a deliberate strategy to delay the development of drug resistance, which inevitably happens when any antimalarial drug is widely, and especially, unwisely used.

ACTs deliver a two-punch attack on the malaria parasite. By combining drugs with different mechanisms of action and different time spans of activity, ACTs increase the likelihood that any parasites not killed by one drug will be killed by the second one.

The usefulness of these therapies is now under threat.

Evidence of resistance to artemisinins was suspected on the Cambodia-Thailand border in 2008 and confirmed in 2009. Other suspected foci have been identified in the Greater Mekong subregion, but are not yet confirmed.

This part of the world is the historical epicentre for the emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites. History tells us what to expect…..

…We are launching a global plan at the start of 2011, but this does not mean that aggressive action has not already taken place. On the contrary.

Containment efforts began immediately on the Cambodia-Thailand border at the end of 2008, even before resistance was confirmed. Household coverage with treated bednets is nearly 100%.

Health facilities have been set up to diagnose and treat malaria. Services are open 24 hours a day, free of charge, and stocked with quality-assured ACTs. Intensive monitoring of therapeutic efficacy continues.

What the global plan aims to do is add another safeguard by extending vigilance and preventive measures to all endemic countries.

The emergence of artemisinin resistance has been a wake-up call. It gives us another compelling reason to step up existing control measures with the greatest sense of urgency.

The global plan spells out clearly what needs to be done. It is my sincere wish that the international community will seize this unprecedented opportunity.

Full statement at: http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2011/malaria_plan_20110112/en/index.html