Trilateral malaria project likely to eliminate malaria in PNG: Official

By OGIA MIAMEL
THE trilateral malaria project by  Australia, China and Papua New Guinea sets out to eliminate malaria in the country, according to Central Public Health Laboratory director Dr Evelyn Lavu.
Lavu said through the partnership, the Australian government committed K8 million which would be used to support Australian, Chinese and Papua New Guinean scientists to collaborate on malaria diagnosis and research.
She said the partnership would focus on strengthening Papua New Guinea’s ability to diagnose malaria at its central and field laboratories, support new research in diagnosis and treatment and pilot an approach that draw on each country’s expertise and has the potential to be scaled up and used for other sectors.
Lavu said: “The focus will be to build the capacity of the two key laboratory institutions in PNG – the Central Public Health Laboratory and the PNG Institute of Medical Research,” she said.
“This will be achieved by supporting quality improvement activities for Papua New Guinea laboratories, such as quality checks, proficiency tests, laboratory upgrades and updating of new policies and procedures.”
She said staff would benefit from training activities in Papua New Guinea and through study tours and exchanges to China.
She said there would also be focus on supporting young researchers from Papua New Guinea to gain international experience through short courses and joint research studies with leading Australian and Chinese academics and partner institutions.