Swiss TPH has a long history of collaboration with partners in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country in the South Pacific that faces major health challenges including high rates of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses like polio. The country continues to struggle with poor access to healthcare particularly in the many remote communities, there is a shortage of trained health workers, and climate-related disasters, weak infrastructure and difficult logistics in a challenging terrain place additional strain on the health system.

In partnership with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), Swiss TPH has been supporting the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) at the National Department of Health by generating evidence to inform the implementation of effective malaria control measures. 

We jointly conduct large-scale national surveys, operational research and epidemiological studies to identify and validate control measures and strategies that could help accelerate PNG's progress towards malaria elimination.

An emerging partnership with Divine World University aims to further strengthen capacity development and education for the health sector in PNG.

Together with the PNG Institute of Medical Research, we assess the outcomes and impact of the Global Fund-supported NMCP. Major activities include national Malaria Indicator Surveys (5 MIS conducted to date), country-wide Health Facility Surveys, and analytical work to contribute to the stratification of malaria risk across PNG. Surveys provide a platform for additional studies, for example to evaluate the longevity of mosquito nets. Findings from these activities support the effective implementation of malaria control activities by the NMCP.

Link to Project 2021-2023

Link to Project 2018-2020

Link to Project 2015-2017

Five national Malaria Indicator Surveys (MIS) conducted since 2008 have documented a substantial decrease in the country-wide prevalence of malaria infections in the population following the scaling-up of vector control with insecticide-treated bednets. A resurgence was observed in 2016/17 and a renewed decrease in the last MIS in 2019/20. Coverage with mosquito nets has plateaued since 2011. All PNG MIS reports are available on https://www.malariasurveys.org/

In the Highlands of PNG, the climate is generally unsuitable for stable malaria transmission, providing an opportunity for complete interruption of local transmission and sub-national elimination. We conducted a school malaria survey combined with reactive case detection in Highlands communities and found only 13 malaria infections among over 6600 participants. A history of recent travel to coastal provinces was a strong predictor of infection. The findings indicate a conducive epidemiological setting for pushing towards local malaria elimination, if operational capacities allow. 

Data from sentinel surveillance sites provide a detailed picture of trends in clinical malaria cases over time complementing national routine statistics. We used sentinel site malaria data to evaluate species-specific morbidity trends and estimate the relative impact of malaria control interventions. We found that repeated mosquito net distributions, but not the introduction of more effective treatment, reduced the incidence of clinical malaria. Human and mosquito behavior may be important drivers of ongoing malaria transmission. Link to Project

• Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research
• Rotarians Against Malaria
• PNG National Department of Health
• Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
• Burnet Institute
• James Cook University