Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 7;21(1):213.
doi: 10.1186/s12936-022-04227-1.

Leveraging geo-referenced malaria information to increase domestic financial support for malaria elimination in Thailand

Prayuth Sudathip  1 , Pratin Dharmarak  2 , Sara Rossi  3 , Nutthawoot Promda  2 , Gretchen Newby  2 , Erika Larson  2 , Deyer Gopinath  4 , Jerdsuda Kanjanasuwan  1 , Praparat Promeiang  1 , Cheewanan Lertpiriyasuwat  1 , Darin Areechokchai  1 , Preecha Prempree  5
Affiliations

Leveraging geo-referenced malaria information to increase domestic financial support for malaria elimination in Thailand

Prayuth Sudathip et al. Malar J. .

Abstract

Thailand's National Malaria Elimination Strategy 2017-2026 seeks to increase domestic support and financing for malaria elimination. During 2018-2020, through a series of training sessions, public health officials in Thailand utilized foci-level malaria data to engage subdistrict-level government units known as Local Administrative Organizations (LAOs) with the aim of increasing their understanding of their local malaria situation, collaboration with public health networks, and advocacy for financial support of targeted interventions in villages within their jurisdictions. As a result of these efforts, total LAO funding support for malaria nearly doubled from the 2017 baseline to 2020. In 2021, a novel "LAO collaboration" feature was added to Thailand's national malaria information system that enables tracking and visualization of LAO financial support of malaria in areas with transmission, by year, down to the subdistrict level. This case study describes Thailand's experience implementing the LAO engagement strategy, quantifying and monitoring the financial support mobilized from LAOs, and results from a qualitative study in five high-performance provinces examining factors and approaches that foster successful local collaboration between LAOs, public health networks, and communities for malaria prevention and response. Results from the study showed that significant malaria endemicity or local outbreaks helped spur collaboration in multiple provinces. Increases in LAO support and involvement were attributable to four approaches employed by public health officials: (a) strengthening malaria literacy and response capacity of LAOs, (b) organizational leadership in response to outbreaks, (c) utilization of structural incentives, and (d) multisectoral involvement in malaria response. In two provinces, capacity building of LAOs in malaria vector control, following a precedent set by Thailand's dengue programme, enabled LAO personnel to play both funding and implementation roles in local malaria response. Wider replication of the LAO engagement strategy across Thailand may sustain gains and yield efficiencies in the fight against malaria as the vector-borne disease workforce declines. Lessons from Thailand's experience may be useful for malaria programmes in other geographies to support the goals and sustainability of elimination and prevention of re-establishment by improving financing through local collaboration between the health system and elected officials.

Keywords: Budget advocacy; Capacity building; Domestic resource mobilization; Financing; Malaria elimination; Malaria information system; Multisectoral collaboration; Stratification; Thailand; Vector control.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. DG is a staff member of the World Health Organization; the author alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication that do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy, or views of the World Health Organization.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Trends in Thailand’s malaria incidence, 2000–2020
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Active malaria transmission foci in Thailand, 2020
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Health-related public administration structure in Thailand
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Timeline of key activities in LAO engagement, 2018–2021
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
“LAO Collaboration” Tableau dashboard in Malaria Online
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Malaria Online: http://malaria.ddc.moph.go.th/. Accessed 30 Sep 2021.
    1. PMI Thailand, USAID. Thailand Digital Community Health Profile: role of digital tools in fighting malaria at the community level [Internet]. PATH; 2021. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bc3457ccc5c5890fe7cacd/t/61407a.... Accessed 30 Sep 2021.
    1. Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Thailand Ministry of Public Health. Malaria Online: the digital surveillance system for Thailand malaria elimination [Internet]. Bangkok: 2019. https://publicadministration.un.org/unpsa/Portals/0/UNPSA_Submitted_Docs.... Accessed 30 Sep 2021.
    1. Lertpiriyasuwat C, Sudathip P, Kitchakarn S, Areechokchai D, Naowarat S, Shah JA, et al. Implementation and success factors from Thailand’s 1-3-7 surveillance strategy for malaria elimination. Malar J. 2021;20:201. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03740-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sudathip P, Saejeng A, Khantikul N, Thongrad T, Kitchakarn S, Sugaram R, et al. Progress and challenges of integrated drug efficacy surveillance for uncomplicated malaria in Thailand. Malar J. 2021;20:261. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03791-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed