Guidelines on Prevention of the Reintroduction of Malaria

Many countries have succeeded in eliminating malaria from their territories. However, they are still at risk of reintroduction from endemic countries and areas. The malaria programs in these countries face many challenges for prevention of malaria reintroduction, including weak malaria surveillance and vigilance systems, lack of malaria awareness among health professionals and travelers, uncontrolled population movement and lack of cooperation among countries. In the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region 13 countries either eliminated malaria many years ago or are very close to malaria elimination. The main priority for these countries is to prevent re-establishment of local malaria transmission in receptive and vulnerable areas in their territories. These guidelines on prevention of reintroduction of malaria provide information on malaria surveillance and vigilance, malaria early warning system, prevention and control of re-introduced malaria, emergency preparedness for malaria outbreaks and monitoring, and evaluation of activities. The publication is targeted at policy and decision makers, health authorities responsible for malaria at national and sub-national levels and field staff. It can also be used in training courses on planning and management of malaria elimination.