Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: Conclusions and Recommendations of Eighth Biannual Meeting (September 2015).

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) to the World Health Organization held its eighth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 16 to 18 September 2015. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and meeting recommendations. Meeting sessions included: recommendations from the Evidence Review Group (ERG) on mass drug administration; recommendations from the ERG on malaria in pregnancy; recommendations on when to scale back vector control; feedback on the Plasmodium vivax technical brief and the recommendation for G6PD testing before treatment; updates on artemisinin and artemisinin-based combination therapy resistance and the Greater Mekong Subregion elimination strategy; an update from the working group on malaria terminology; and updates on malaria elimination in the World Health Organization European region, the ERG on malaria elimination, and World Health Organization reform to support innovation, efficiency and quality in vector control tools. Policy statements, position statements, and guidelines that arise from the MPAC meeting conclusions and recommendations will be issued formally and disseminated to World Health Organization Member States by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme

Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations of sixth biannual meeting (September 2014).

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the World Health Organization held its sixth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 10 to 12 September 2014. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and recommendations from that meeting.Meeting sessions covered the following: an update on drug resistance and containment including an assessment on the feasibility of elimination of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion; guidance on the control of residual malaria transmission by behaviourally resistant vectors; progress on the implementation of the Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management; updates on the Global Technical Strategy, Global Malaria Action Plan and the Plasmodium vivax technical brief; gaps in current World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme guidance for acceleration to elimination; surveillance, monitoring and evaluation; the updated World Health Organization Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria; Round 5 product testing for rapid diagnostic tests; and Intermittent Preventive Treatment for infants.Policy statements, position statements, and guidelines that arise from the Malaria Policy Advisory Committee meeting conclusions and recommendations will be formally issued and disseminated to World Health Organization Member States by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme

Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations of eighth biannual meeting (September 2015).

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) to the World Health Organization held its eighth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 16 to 18 September 2015. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and meeting recommendations. Meeting sessions included: recommendations from the Evidence Review Group (ERG) on mass drug administration; recommendations from the ERG on malaria in pregnancy; recommendations on when to scale back vector control; feedback on the Plasmodium vivax technical brief and the recommendation for G6PD testing before treatment; updates on artemisinin and artemisinin-based combination therapy resistance and the Greater Mekong Subregion elimination strategy; an update from the working group on malaria terminology; and updates on malaria elimination in the World Health Organization European region, the ERG on malaria elimination, and World Health Organization reform to support innovation, efficiency and quality in vector control tools. Policy statements, position statements, and guidelines that arise from the MPAC meeting conclusions and recommendations will be issued formally and disseminated to World Health Organization Member States by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme

Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations of seventh biannual meeting (March 2015).

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the World Health Organization held its seventh meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 5 to 7 March 2015. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and meeting recommendations. Meeting sessions included: an update on the Greater Mekong Subregion elimination strategy; an update on the RTS,S vaccine; G6PD testing to support the safe use of anti-relapse therapy for Plasmodium vivax; update from the Vector Control Advisory Group; newly proposed evidence reviews or consultations on malaria terminology, malaria in pregnancy, and the feasibility of eradication; as well as updates from the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme regarding their strategy update and policy setting processes. Policy statements, position statements, and guidelines that arise from the Malaria Policy Advisory Committee meeting conclusions and recommendations will be formally issued and disseminated to World Health Organization Member States by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme

Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations of September 2013 meeting.

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the World Health Organization held its fourth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 11 to 13 September, 2013. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and recommendations from that meeting.Meeting sessions included: recommendations for achieving universal coverage of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets; guidance on estimating the longevity of insecticide-treated nets; improving capacity in entomology and vector control; a review of the latest evidence on intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy; improving dissemination of Malaria Policy Advisory Committee guidance; updates on the development of the global technical strategy for malaria control and elimination (2016-2025) and the global strategy for control and elimination of Plasmodium vivax; updates from the drug resistance and containment technical expert group, the evidence review group on malaria burden estimation, a consultation on malaria case management indicators, and the constitution of the surveillance, monitoring and evaluation technical expert group; subnational elimination criteria; and consideration for future evidence review groups, including diagnosis in low transmission settings and testing for Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency.Policy statements, position statements and guidelines that arise from the Malaria Policy Advisory Committee meeting conclusions and recommendations will be formally issued and disseminated to World Health Organization Member States by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme

Expanding the Vector Control Toolbox for Malaria Elimination: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.

Additional vector control tools (VCTs) are needed to supplement insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) to achieve malaria elimination in many settings. To identify options for expanding the malaria vector control toolbox, we conducted a systematic review of the availability and quality of the evidence for 21 malaria VCTs, excluding ITNs and IRS. Six electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched from January 1, 1980 to September 28, 2015 to identify systematic reviews, Phase I-IV studies, and observational studies that measured the effect of malaria VCTs on epidemiological or entomological outcomes across any age groups in all malaria-endemic settings. Eligible studies were summarized qualitatively, with quality and risk of bias assessments undertaken where possible. Of 17,912 studies screened, 155 were eligible for inclusion and were included in a qualitative synthesis. Across the 21 VCTs, we found considerable heterogeneity in the volume and quality of evidence, with 7 VCTs currently supported by at least one Phase III community-level evaluation measuring parasitologically confirmed malaria incidence or infection prevalence (insecticide-treated clothing and blankets, insecticide-treated hammocks, insecticide-treated livestock, larval source management (LSM), mosquito-proofed housing, spatial repellents, and topical repellents). The remaining VCTs were supported by one or more Phase II (n=13) or Phase I evaluation (n=1). Overall the quality of the evidence base remains greatest for LSM and topical repellents, relative to the other VCTs evaluated, although existing evidence indicates that topical repellents are unlikely to provide effective population-level protection against malaria. Despite substantial gaps in the supporting evidence, several VCTs may be promising supplements to ITNs and IRS in appropriate settings. Strengthening operational capacity and research to implement underutilized VCTs, such as LSM and mosquito-proofed housing, using an adaptive, learning-by-doing approach, while expanding the evidence base for promising supplementary VCTs that are locally tailored, should be considered central to global malaria elimination efforts