September 30-October 3, 2008
Durban, South Africa
Co-hosted with the South African Medical Research Council
The MEG’s second meeting was held in Durban, South Africa and was co-hosted with the South African Medical Research Council (MRC). Regional guests attended, representing Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, and South Africa’s malaria programs. The meeting focused on updates from eight eliminating countries (Botswana, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Vanuatu, and Zanzibar) and three cross-border initiatives (Trans-Zambezi Malaria Initiative, Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative, and Thai/Cambodia Initiative). The meeting also included discussion and debate of the first draft of Shrinking the Malaria Map: A Prospectus on Malaria Elimination. The MEG agreed to supplement the Prospectus with a high-level policy digest, A Guide on Malaria Elimination for Policy Makers. The MEG established that a role of the Group should be to provide the malaria community with evidence from countries that have successfully eliminated malaria – either national elimination or sub-national elimination – and that conducting case studies and disseminating evidence-based elimination resources will be a priority. The meeting was preceded by an optional two-day study tour of the MRC’s work on the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI) in KwaZulu-Natal, a highly successful, innovative regional program between the governments of South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique to control and reduce the prevalence of malaria along the countries’ shared borders.
The MEG’s fourth meeting was held in Hainan Province, China in December 2009. The meeting was co-hosted with China’s Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD). The agenda focused on malaria elimination efforts in the Asia Pacific region and current technical issues with elimination, with a particular focus on challenges with P. vivax malaria. The meeting was preceded by a one-day study tour of Hainan Island’s impressive elimination program, which has reached near elimination through strong case management, pre-transmission season “Spring treatment”, vector control with bednets, community engagement, and strong surveillance including the use of an internet-based reporting system.
The MEG’s third meeting was held in Brienz, Switzerland in April 2009 and was co-hosted with the Swiss Tropical Institute. The agenda included presentations and updates on recent malaria elimination regional initiatives and meetings, as well as work undertaken by global agencies and partner organizations. The second half of the meeting focused on future priorities for elimination and the role of the MEG and its partners, including methods and approaches for case studies, core indicators for elimination, and elimination-specific operational research needs. The meeting celebrated the completion and publication of the MEG’s two major contributions to elimination: 
