The Official Newsletter of the Asian Collaborative Training Network for Malaria

Volume 7 Number 1

ACTMalaria welcomes new CCD from China

Special points of inter-est:

• Challenges for 2003

• Inaugural of the new ACTMalaria office

Editorial: 2

News in brief 3

News in Pix 4

Quarter Highlights 5-6

E-missives 7

Announcements 8

Coming Up 9

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1 1 / f R a m o n M a g s a y s a y C e n t e r , 1 6 8 0 R o x a s B l v d . , M a l a t e ,

ACTMalaria ACTMalaria ACTMalaria newsnewsnews AUGUST 2003

Dr. Tang Lin-hua, Director/Professor of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control, is now the new Coordinating Country Director of ACTMalaria.

Dr. Tang Lin-hua, who will be taking over the post from Dato’ Dr. Tee Ah Sian of Malaysia, will be in charge with directing and overseeing the activities of the organization. Under the re-organization of ACTMalaria, he will automatically serve as the first President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees once the incorporation process is finalized— and ACTMalaria becomes institutionalized into a non-stock, non-profit organization in the Philippines.

Dr. Tang Lin-hua has more than ten years of clinical experience in communicable and parasitic diseases and brings with him an extensive knowledge of malaria and the needs of public health program for capacity development, sharing of information and research. He has been involved in various studies in the field of malaria epidemiology and control and drug researches as well as in the management of control program. At present, he is also the Chairman of the Expert Advisory Committee on Malaria in the Ministry of Health in China. A recipient of several awards and recognition from both academic and scientific community in China, he also sits in the editorial board of various scientific journals in China.

Well-known nationally and internationally as a professional parasitologist. his qualifications include degree in Doctor of Medicine in Public Health and a Diploma in Epidemiology, both from the Harbin Medical University in China, Masters of Science degree in Tropical Medicine from the Mahidol University in Thailand and post-graduate certificates from the University of Queensland Medical School in Australia and the School for Public Health in the University of California-Berkeley in the US. He joined the Institute of Parasitic Diseases in 1983 where he started as a research associate. He stayed on with the Institute where he rose into the position of a Deputy Director and Professor in 1990 before becoming the Director in 2001. He began his career as a community doctor in a hospital in Heilongjiang Province.

Dr Tang Lin-hua will be the fourth country member representative to assume directorship of the network since its inception in 1996. Dato’ Dr. Tee Ah Sian will formally hand over the position in the forthcoming executive board meeting in September in Shanghai, China. Same as his predecessors, Dr. Tang Lin-hua will hold the CCD post for the next 2 fiscal years (2003-2004).

Courtesy of Dr. Ha Thai Son

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be

undertaken with painstaking excellence.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

CHALLENGES FOR 2003

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1

Iraq war, SARS epidemic, demise of ACTMalaria’s friend (Dr. Carlo Urbani), political problems, typhoons, budget cuts, re-organization of health ministries, change of ACTMalaria country directors in some of the member countries, relocation of ACTMalaria Office, institu-tionalization process, new leadership and staff, change in representatives of Partner organi-zations—these are just to mention some of the many challenges we had to face in 2003. They are mostly external threats to our organization, nonetheless very real, inevitably causing de-lays and changes in our planned activities. Fortunately, we are in a region known for its resil-ience and patience in times of adversity—and this being the year of the Water-Goat (according to the Chinese horoscope, lacks form of it’s own and forced to conform and take the shape of what contains it) we are still able to move on, slowly but surely. And while eve-ryone is waiting and praying for WAR and SARS to come to an end, we remained undaunted. Choosing not to be deceived into falling into inactivity but rather continued with the tasks at hand i.e. setting up the office in Manila, turnover of work from Bangkok, drafting of strategy and work plan for the coming years, and relentless pursuit of the institutionalization process for ACTMalaria among many others. We should congratulate our 2 countries who were suc-cessful in conducting workshops for ACTMalaria, i.e. Inter-country workshop on Management of Severe Malaria (Vietnam) and TTT (Malaysia)— both took place while they were also among those in the forefront in the fight to stomp the spread of SARS in the region. Of course, we also welcome the entry of GFATM support for some of our member countries, which should boost our drive against malaria.

Now, we should all be really eager for our EB-Partners meeting to take place and for some of our member countries to conduct their national MMFO courses. There are still a lot of work to be done for 2003 and we expect more challenges ahead. We do look forward to a good working relationship with our new CCD Dr. Tang Lin-hua together with the rest of the member countries and partners. With greater commitments, we can turn threats into opportunities and surely as an organization, we shall prevail.

P A G E 2

EDITORIAL

TextNotes TextNotes TextNotes from the ECfrom the ECfrom the EC It is a privilege to present to you the first issue of ACTMalaria news for 2003. You are ACTMalaria members, alumni, partners or just interested to know more about ACTMalaria— our endeavor is to keep you fully informed of the upcoming activities and important events. As we have agreed during our last EB-Partners meeting, we will continue with the newsletter as one of our medium for in-formation exchange. Now that we have settled in our new ACTMalaria office in Ramon Magsaysay Center, we hope to release the ACTMalarianews every quarter.

Your show of support is in sending us articles and information, about your programme’s activities,

alumni implemented projects and important events that you wish to share with others in our News and website.

We welcome your comments and suggestions about our newsletter—so we can make future issues more interesting.

It’s the ‘Generation Text’ so there are many ways for you to reach us — by SMS at +639196947559 or by ICQ at 163713343 or e-mail us at mcp_phl@lycos.com or ACTMal_news@lycos.com (these are our temporary e-mail address until we have re-established contact with our webhost).

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1

After killing more than 800 and infecting nearly 8,500 people, a sigh of relief can now be heard as countries affected break free from the SARS epidemic chain. Severe acute respiratory syndrome or more commonly known as SARS is believed to be caused by a coronavirus—one of the paramyxoviruses that cause respiratory infections. Although some people say that SARS might be here to stay, many are hopeful that everyone would have learned a lot from the experience—and public health should now have the readiness for a next viral attack. Except for Canada, ACTMalaria members and neighboring countries are the most badly hit by the epidemic. Countries who suffered have yet to recover from the resulting economic damage—an experience no one wants repeated. Banking on improving epidemic preparedness through collaboration, good surveillance and training on epidemic management for ACTMalaria member countries—an area that can be covered by the organization’s capacity development function.

The TDR grant awarded to ACTMalaria in 2002 was utilized to set up the small grant programme which was aimed at supporting implementation of research projects of the ACTMalaria Network. From the US$9000 initially received, 9 alumni were awarded the grants, namely: Dr. Mushfiqur Rah-man, Mr. Zhou Sheng, Dr. Vimal Kishore Gupta, Dr.Sok Vanne, Dr. Srey So-cheath,Ms. Nardlada Khantikul, Mr. John Porto, Mr. Sebsakul Sakolvaree and Dr. Dao

Minh Tuan. Each proponent got about US$2,000 each.

Project proposals were approved based on relevance not only to the propo-nent’s country programme but for the whole region as well. The projects are also expected to provide the needed research experience for the alumni.

Note: Results of the projects will be featured in our next issues of ACTMalarianews

P A G E 3

6 ACTMalaria Members Gets Fund From GFATM

(BREAKING) FREE OF SARS

Alumni Get Project Support from Small Grant Programme of ACTMalaria

years, will scale up malaria control and prevention in these countries. It is ex-pected that there will be improved access to quality services in areas gravely affected by malaria—i.e. highly remote rural com-munities and ethnic mi-norities.

One of the major activities in the GFATM implementa-tion is massive capacity

development for commu-nity/primary health care workers and local govern-ment units—people who will be involved in the expansion of services—perfect opportunity for ACTMalaria alumni to put into practice what they have learned from their trainings.

ACTMalaria member countries get support for malaria from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tu-berculosis and Malaria. Grant agreements with China, Cambodia, Indo-nesia, Laos, Philippines and Thailand were signed during the first semester of 2003. The 6 grants, amounting to about US$29 million to cover a period of two

Coronavirus the culprit behind the SARS epi-demic © SPL, Nature Science Update 28 Mar 2003

“Alone we can do so little;

Together we can do so much.”

- Helen Keller

Cecil Hugo, the ACTM Exec. Coordinator and Joy Ann Lico, the Exec. Asst, receiving special blessing from Norweigian priest who officiated the ceremony.

Ribbon cutting done by Dr. Doberstyn and Dr. Palmer of WPRO

Guests during the inaugural included our consult-ant, Mrs. Susanne Wise, staff from WPRO/MVP focus and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine

The Food Food The The winewine

Dr. EB Doberstyn, Ms. Violy Gonzales, Dr. Kevin Palmer and Ms. Janet Mina

Dr. Peter Kundstander, Ms. Carol Beaver and Mrs Susanne Wise

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1

After a couple of months of searching, we have finally found a perfect niche for ACTMalaria. Our office is now located at the 11th floor of Ramon Magsaysay Center along Roxas Boulevard in Malate , Manila. The building is right in front the famous Manila Bay (which may be viewed from the windows) and is in between the US Embassy and the Manila Yacht Club. You can contact us at telephone numbers (63-2) 321-31-66 to 85 local 170 and fax number at 5.

The office inaugural was held last May 30, 2003 in an informal ceremony officiated by a Norweigian priest from Malate Church. The simple but significant occasion was graced by the presence of our friends and partners from WPRO, ADB and RITM (see photo session above). Hope to welcome you all in our office!

P A G E 4

NEWS IN PIX

ACTMALARIA OFFICE INAUGURAL

Guests and Participants during the Severe and Complicated Malaria Work-shop held in HCMC

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1 P A G E 5

ACTMalaria, in collaboration and support from the WHO/WPRO, USAID and Wellcome Trust and the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE) Vietnam or-ganized the International Workshop on Management of Severe and Complicated Malaria at the Hos-pital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City last 19-21 March 2003. About 70 scientists (including managers of the national malaria control programs, researchers and doctors of malaria treatment at the research Institutes and Hospitals) from 9 ACTMalaria member countries (Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam) participated in the work-shop.

There were 21 reports presented on the subjects of (1) pathological mechanism and pa-thology of severe malaria , (2) current situation of severe malaria and management of severe ma-laria in the ACT Malaria member countries, (3) point of view and experiences in management of severe malaria, and (4) experience on the diagnosis and treatment of severe malaria at different hospital levels. Through the presentations (reports) and active discussion, the workshop arrived at the following conclusions: 1— The National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCP) of each ACTMalaria member country have an important role to play in the management of severe and complicated malaria. The primary objec-tive of a malaria control strategy is to prevent and reduce the mortality from malaria. 2— During recent years the NMCP of many countries have gained good results and successes. How-ever, in some regions it remains a serious threat and malaria mortality remains high in some coun-tries. The spread of drug resistance (which we must try to prevent by the use of combination anti-malarial drugs) may lead to new challenges in the future. 3—The management of severe and complicated malaria is a continuous process starting with the prevention of malaria and early diagnosis and treatment of severe malaria in the community and in the hospitals. 4— In order to manage severe and complicated malaria effectively, each country should have good health service system from primary health care to higher level hospitals, should manage and advise the private health sector in diagnosis and treatment of malaria, should have a suitable drug policy (especially the use of artemisinin and its derivatives in combinations with other drugs) for the treatment of malaria and severe malaria, should regularly give health education to the community and train the health staff at various level on diagnosis and treatment of severe malaria.

- NIMPE Report (more detailed report will be made available through the ACTMalaria website)

International Workshop on the Management of Severe and Complicated Malaria held in Ho Chi Minh City

QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1 P A G E 6

Inter-country training workshop on Transfer of

Training Technology held Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Participants, trainers and facilitators in their national

costumes and ‘Sunday’s Best’ during the Transfer of Train-

ing Technology Workshop in KL

Malaysia had once again successfully conducted TTT workshop last 2 –28 June 2003. The course was at-tended by 23 participants from 7 countries of different pro-fessional categories (medical doctors, entomologists, health education officers, health promotion officers and laboratory technologists). The purpose of the TTT workshop is to de-velop training country teams who will be able to improve the planning, implementation, development and follow up of national and international ACT Malaria courses that address defined needs for improving malaria control.

With the untiring effort of Dr. Thada Bornstein, TTT course consultant, 12 facilitators/ trainers (most of whom were ACT Malaria graduates and Senior Scientists/ Doctors) and the able leadership of Dato’ Dr. Tee Ah Sian, all the participants had achieved the standard requirements of the course—with 11 country training project proposals pre-sented to a Panel of Experts.

The TTT 2003 graduates are expected to conduct their training projects in the next 6 – 12 months. The ACT Malaria directors are requested to monitor and follow up the country projects as an evaluation of training outcome.

- Mr. Tham Ah Seng, TTT Course Organizer

TO THE ORGANIZERS, SPONSORS —Let us continue to have international meets, conferences and workshops. Undeniably, exchanging ideas and experiences is still the best learning tool. We should never be afraid to admit our dependence and inter-dependence on one another. Big and rich and more advanced countries can still learn from smaller and poorer countries. TO THE TEACHERS AND FACILITATORS—Go on with your work of charity for this is what it is. Develop the nurturing spirit. Anyone can teach but it takes a special gift to look at a student and see him/her for what he/she could be rather than what they are. It takes an even greater gift to see a person and commit yourself to their development. TO MANAGERS AND POLICY-MAKERS—Look upon your workers as people with special needs. Develop a system for serving the service-providers. Their intellectual, professional and personal growth should be their lookout. In developing a happy, healthy workforce, we ensure quality of service delivery. trainings are integral, but they are a means in themselves. Quality and not quantity remains the primary consideration in their conduct. TO THE CLASS—The closing of this course is not the end but the beginning. We have been passed the torch in the responsibility of ensuring the quality transfer of health technology in general and malaria technology specifically if only to ensure our ability to cope with the ever-increasing demands for health care services.

(Excerpts from the message delivered by Dr. Antonio Bautista from the Philippines, Class President—TTT 2003, during the closing ceremony in Grand Season’s Ho-tel ,Kuala Lumpur)

INSPIRING ACTMALARIA

V OL U M E 7 NUM BE R 1 P A G E 7

EEE---Missives: Missives: Missives: From the participants of the 2003 TTT Course

Being a piece of pleasant lifetime,

and one-month visit in Kuala Lumpur, an

addition to my continuing training oppor-

tunity. It was great to adapt myself to

learn more about advanced knowledge in

the training course, TTT. It enabled me to

improve my English and life skills for my

profession . There are no more words to say

thanks specially to all the staff and course

organizers—all taken in my mind... Surachart Koyadun Thailand

The TTT course was comprehensive.

Materials supplied to us are excellent.

I got so many ideas through this course

and I came to learn many new things

which I didn't know before, for example

Critical Thinking, Partner ship and Net

working,etc. It's better if our facilitators

and stay will keep in touch with the

group and maintain discussion.

Rizal Kosim Indonesia

I just want to say thank you to all trainers,

facilitators and organizers. I gained knowedge,

which will be useful for my work. I also have very

good experience and memories. It was a wonderful

course where I have learnt a lot. I do hope the

course will be continued for others.

Aungkana Saejeng

Thailand

TTT Course was learner centered and participatory in character. Small group discussions and exercises encouraged me to actively share ideas and experiences with other participants. Foundation skills included topics that prepared us to accomplish more difficult tasks later on. The beauty of the course is that the knowledge and skills gained are not only advantageous for malaria program but also for other health program concerns and issues. In a way , the course also aimed to develop and improve the personality of partici-pants.

Overall, I would say that attending the TTT Course was a wonder-ful learning experience. I hope that the course design will continue to improve until perfection.

Jo Rosete, Philippines

I am a senior trainer and I have participated in many training courses both in-country and overseas, but I learned very good Training Technology during TTT course in Kuala Lumpur. Why? Because, I feel something have changed in my mind--I improved my knowledge (and skill?). My suggestion to the committee is "(Supposing) topic: Transfer of Training in the Workplace -- if elaborated, it will be more applicable - (I think) TTT will give more advantage".

Subardan Rochmad, Indonesia Indonesia

The TTT course is a well-designed and

managed training course. Its contents are

relevant to my job--organize training courses

on malaria control for provincial health staff.

It's very useful for me not only in training

but also other activities of malaria control.

I'm grateful for the precious help of trainers/

facilitators and advisor. Now I can step-by-

step design a training course under

framework of National Malaria Control

Program of Vietnam--task which wasn't easy

before I went to KL.

Ha Thai Son. Vietnam

Announcing theAnnouncing theAnnouncing the Annual Executive Board & Partners MeetingAnnual Executive Board & Partners MeetingAnnual Executive Board & Partners Meeting

Shanghai, China 29 September to 1 October 2003

FEEL OF SHANGHAI

Shanghai, which means “the sea’, is a bustling metropolis situated at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Connected with Jiangsu and Zhejiang prov-inces in the west, the city is exposed to the East China Sea in the east. Its humble beginnings was as a fishing village before it rose to become China’s biggest and busiest port. Shanghai, possibly the country’s center of industry and commerce, its people are recognized for their business acumen and elegance. Probably China's most fashionable, it is best known internationally for its shopping centers and nightlife.

If you want to know more about Shanghai, visit

www.travelchina.com or www.asiainfo.com

City Profile

Location: situated on the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, near the Yang-tze’s mouth to the East China Sea

Land Area: 6,341 sq km (2,448 sq mi) Population: 14,173,000 (Source: UN Popula-tion Division 2000 estimate) Currency: Yuan (Chinese) Renminbi (CNY) Time Zone: 8 hours from GMT, 13 hours from Eastern Standard Time and 16 hours from Pacific Standard Time.

Language: The local people speak a Chinese dialect called Wu. Most residents also speak Mandarin, China’s official spoken language.

People: Almost all of residents are ethnic Han Chinese, although there are small numbers of non-Han minorities. There are people from all regions of China and many foreign countries living in the city Average daily temp of 25o to 32oC during summer months and 1o to 8o during cool win-ters

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The new Co-ordinating Country Director (CCD) from China, Dr. Tang Lin-hua takes pleasure in inviting ACTMalaria Members and Partners to this year’s annual Meeting.

To be held in the lively city of Shanghai, members and partners will once again have the perfect opportunity to exchange information and further strengthen collaboration and partnership in the control of malaria in the region. In this year’s meeting, the focus will be on the changes in the organizational structure, technical directions and operational priorities for capacity development and information sharing, and potential areas for partnership.

Programme schedule will be quite hectic, but definitely — there will be time for social activities for the participants. A city well-known for its hospitality to foreigners, Shanghai is endowed with many attractions related to its long and complicated history —a must for learning experience!

Come to the meeting and share in the experience!

For more information, please contact: Mr. Chen Jiaxu, Mr. Chen Pulin Division of Science and Technology Institute of Parasitic Diseases Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Tel: 86-21-64667407, Fax: 86-21-64667407, 86-21-64332670 Email: ipdcdckjc@shl63.

We are on the web:

http://www.actmalaria.org

11/f Ramon Magsaysay Center 1680 Roxas Boulevard, Malate Manila, Philippines

First Announcement Operational Research Training

De la Salle University, Manila

In coordination with ACTMalaria

Will be conducting an Operations Research Training Course in Palawan, Philippines on 2-29 November. The course will be funded by RBM/WPRO

Application forms is now available from the ACTMalaria Office and will soon be available thru

our website.

COMING UP

Phone: +63(2)521-3166 to 85 loc. 170 Fax: +63(2)526-5627 Email: mcp_phl@lycos.com

ASIAN COLLABORATIVE TRAINING NETWORK FOR MALARIA

ACTMalaria (Asian Collaborative Training Network for Malaria) is a training network to which National Malaria Control Programmes of Bangladesh, Cambodia, PR China, Republic of Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are members. The network aims at 2 major objectives:

• Provide collaborative training for member countries to meet the needs of malaria control in Southeast Asia and Mekong valley;

• Improve communications among member countries on malaria problems affecting commn borders.

N

at’l MMFO Courses

Laos in August

Philipines in September

Cambodiia and Myanmar -

la

st quarter of 2003