Convening with Purpose: An Impact Analysis of Malaria Related Advocacy in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

The Asia-Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) hosts their annual convening, Malaria Week, and the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), annually. It was originated to be a space where leaders pledge to agreements presented throughout the week, hold one another accountable for regional progress, and identify bottlenecks in malaria elimination. Over the last five years, Malaria Week and the SOM have focused on several regional elimination goals. However, the APLMA leadership team has not assessed the impact the Malaria Week and SOM sessions have had on national malaria elimination efforts. Using a mixed-methods, cross-sectional study survey I assessed the primary outcomes of interest, how participants felt the recommendations presented at Malaria Week and the Senior Officials Meeting influenced programmatic or policy actions taken at the national level. Our target population was high-level government officials and senior members of the NGO, academic, and private sectors. Roughly half of the study participants suggested that there was a perceived influence, but the majority could not clarify why, when asked specifically. In the qualitative responses, some participants suggested a need for stronger accountability and follow-up, country-level technical support, and help with resource mobilization.