Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee (MEOC) focused review meeting

Overview

The third meeting of the Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee (MEOC) was held in Geneva on 12–14 February 2019. Seven countries (Belize, Bhutan, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Suriname and Timor-Leste) considered on track for elimination by 2020 were invited for focused review sessions to examine their programme’s performance and achievements and to identify additional issues that could be addressed to improve effectiveness.

Each eliminating country presented on their progress towards elimination and their programme’s activities, successes and challenges. All countries except for Costa Rica reported a reduction in case numbers in 2018 compared to 2017, and two countries (Malaysia and Timor-Leste) reported zero indigenous malaria cases in 2018. The MEOC developed individual country recommendations in collaboration with the national programme managers, WHO and GFATM staff, as well as overarching recommendations to WHO and partners.