The Annual MMV Access Symposium is a forum to bring together representatives of health ministries of malaria endemic countries and organisations working to accelerate and facilitate access to effective antimalarials. The aim is to share experiences and learnings in this challenging area of work.

Focused on specific themes, the meetings provide a lively discussion for a range of partners already involved with MMV Access & Delivery work. These include partners from malaria-endemic countries, Ministries of Health and NMCP members, regulatory authorities, WHO, procurement specialists, MMV pharmaceutical partners, donors, public and private delivery partners, scientists involved in R&D, operational research implementing agencies and specialists in the area of policy development, financing, malaria treatment and demand creation.

The Access Symposium in Kampala, Uganda, was well-attended and well-received. Apart from MMV stakeholders, it attracted well over 70 scientists, researchers, national malaria programme officers, and representatives of NGOs, from all over the world. Fourteen speakers gave presentations on topics ranging from the antimalarial landscape in Africa to current attempts to increase the reach of ACTs to the poor. Francisco Songane Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child health, WHO, and Catherine Hodgkin Director Development Policy & Practice KIT, the Netherlands, chaired the meeting.

The objectives of the symposium were not only to assemble relevant players in Access and Delivery in east Africa, but also to look at the reality of antimalarial distribution in the private sector, highlight gaps in ACT provision especially to the rural poor, share innovative approaches to close this gap, and outline MMV’s access initiatives.

Several critical issues were highlighted during the course of the presentations, including the need to maximise reach of ACTs without jeopardising safety or creating resistance, and to tailor the risk management approach to the needs of each country. Obstacles to roll-out of ACTs were identified, which included the need for harmonisation of regulatory approvals, readying the distribution infrastructure, sustained financing, behaviour change of all players (manufacturers, providers, users), and stemming the leakage of drugs from public to private sector and across national boundaries.

Related documents:

Introduction to MMV Access Symposium (PDF)

Agenda for MMV Access Symposium (PDF)

List of Participants - MMV Access Symposium (PDF)

Full Report of the 2007 MMV Access Symposium (Word)

Agenda with Presentations
(*click on the highlighted names to download the presentations - all are in PDF format)

Session 1 - From CQ/SP to ACTs: The antimalarial landscape
A reality check in East Africa
-  Nathan Mulure, Medical Director, Novartis East Africa

Regulating antimalarials
-  Hashim Yusufu, National Food and Drug Authority, Nigeria

What do antimalarials sell for?
-  Rosette Mutambi,Executive Director HEPS Uganda

Challenges of changing prescribing practices from CQ/SP to ACT in the private sector
-  James Tibenderana, Drug Policy Change Specialist, Malaria Consortium

Session 2 - Increasing the reach of ACTs

What’s being done for the rural poor?
-  Naawa Sipilanyambe, Former NMCP Manager, Zambia

Tanzania: Accredited Drug Distribution Outlets
-  Setoke Ngedabanka, Director Business Support, Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA)

PRIMO: Subsidized ACT for Home Management of Malaria in Rwanda
-  Corinne Karema, National Malaria Control Programme Manager, Rwanda

Uganda: Home-based Management of Fever (HBMF) - the Kiboga Experience
- Allan Muruta, District Health Officer, Kiboga, Uganda

Session 3 - MMV - Partnering for Access
Ensuring uptake of MMV products
Collaborating on Phase IV studies - Registration and Beyond
-  David Ubben, Director Clinical Development, MMV

Safety and Effectiveness Studies of Antimalarial Drugs - the Phase IV Consortium
-  Fred Binka, Executive Director, INDEPTH Network

Closing the ACT distribution gap in rural Uganda: a MoH MMV initiative
-  Ambrose Talisuna, Asst. Commissioner of Health, Ministry of Health, Uganda

Special session - ACT subsidy design
-  Samantha Bolton and Nicolas Theopold, Dalberg Global Development Advisors