The U. S. Agency for International Development ‘s (USAID) Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) supports regional, transnational, and bilateral programs in the region that foster cooperative solutions to development issues, including infectious disease. The SPS Program currently receives funding from RDMA to strengthen pharmaceutical systems for tuberculosis and malaria throughout the region, and for HIV/AIDS in China.

Malaria Activities 

SPS is a partner in the Mekong Malaria Program (MMP), a regional initiative funded by USAID and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which facilitates the implementation and monitoring of a comprehensive malaria control strategy in the Mekong subregion. The MMP brings together national and international partners to address common challenges in malaria control in the Mekong countries—Cambodia, China (Yunnan province), Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam—and further reduce malaria mortality and morbidity throughout the subregion.  

The USAID MMP core partners include ACTMalaria Foundation, U.S Center for Disease Control, Kenan Institute Asia, Malaria Consortium, MEASURE Evaluation, United States Pharmacopeia Drug Quality and Information Program, University Research Co., WHO, and SPS.

SPS has been providing technical assistance to the Bureau of Vector Borne Diseases in Thailand to strengthen the supply systems for malaria. In July 2008, SPS conducted an assessment of the supply systems for malaria, with a focus on the availability of antimalarials and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at community level malaria service centers, which are supported by the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Based on the assessment’s results, SPS collaborated with the national malaria program to train provincial-level program managers in good pharmaceutical management practices. Additional support is being provided to develop standard operating procedures for storage, distribution, and inventory management as well as guidelines for supervision. 

SPS is also supporting the Center of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (CMPE) in Laos in its efforts to strengthen the pharmaceutical system for malaria. Through Laos' GFATM grants, SPS conducted an assessment of antimalarial and RDT management practices. Based on the results of this assessment, SPS has been providing technical assistance to CMPE and the GFATM Principal Recipient Office in their efforts to strengthen quantification and the information system. 

In February 2009, SPS conducted a two-day training and field exercise in pharmaceutical management at the regional Managing Malaria Field Operations course, which included participants from twelve countries in the Asia and Pacific regions.

Tuberculosis Activities

In an effort to improve technical and human resource capacity to execute tuberculosis (TB) control activities and address emerging multidrug-resistant TB issues in the Asia region, the Western Pacific Regional Office of WHO (WHO/WPRO) and other stakeholders—including SPS, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control, the Tropical Disease Foundation and the national TB programs from China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and Lao PDR—have launched a regional model center for TB control. SPS provides technical expertise to improve pharmaceutical management practices related to selection, procurement, distribution, and use of medicines for TB through providing curriculum and sharing experiences.  

In addition, SPS also provides technical assistance to TB programs in the region to address their specific pharmaceutical management needs. For example, in 2009, SPS conducted a Quantification and Training of Trainers course in Mongolia for key National Tuberculosis Program managers and district supervisors on basic pharmaceutical management principles and the use of quantification tools for both first- and second-line medicines. SPS will also provide post-training technical support to help Mongolia monitor implementation and assist with subsequent scale-up efforts.