Diseases like malaria but also COVID-19 have shown that we are only as strong as our weakest link. The fight against infectious diseases requires robust and responsive health systems that ensure access to health services and commodities to the most vulnerable, down to the last mile.

Malaria is a disease of the rural poor and the remaining burden of malaria in Asia Pacific, concentrated predominantly in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea is among the most hard-to-reach-communities with poorer access to health services as well as among indigenous people.

The fight against malaria to date has underpinned the importance of sub-national efforts for infectious diseases management, and the importance of empowering communities and community health workers to find, test and treat every case everywhere.

This dialogue explores various strategies designed to build capacity at sub-national level that support malaria elimination efforts. Our guest, Prof Dr Kamini Mendis, will draw from examples in Sri Lanka a country that successfully eliminated Malaria in 2016, to illustrate the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration at all levels to manage disease outbreaks effectively.