Strengthening the health systems at national level for malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion countries: A qualitative study

Countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have committed to eliminating malaria by 2030. The success of a national malaria programme’s transition from malaria control to elimination is dependent on the readiness of the health system to implement malaria elimination strategies. Understanding the readiness of health systems and what needs to be adapted is key to identifying barriers in achieving malaria elimination goals. To explore the needs for national-level health system readiness, a multi-country qualitative study was conducted in the GMS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 stakeholders including national malaria policymakers (n=5), basic health staff from Ministries of Health (n=12), managers and field supervisors from malaria implementing partners (n=16) and personnel from technical agencies (n=6). Reflexive thematic analysis of national level health system requirements was carried out aligned with themes adapted from the World Health Organization health system building blocks. Stakeholders discussed barriers in current health system building blocks and areas for improvement needing attention from policymakers and programme implementers. Major barriers identified were the lack of targeted interventions in high-risk groups in national policies, incomplete reporting from private sector, lack of experienced workforce for elimination, administrative constraints in supply chain, declining malaria funding from international donors, and poor compliance to regulations for malaria elimination. To overcome these, national programmes must be equipped with an experienced workforce, sustainable human resource plans, a reliable and smooth procurement and supply chain system, a sustainable funding support, higher-level commitment and a strong technical leadership by the national programme. National programmes must assess national health system readiness for malaria elimination to avoid inefficiencies, financial strain, and unattended gaps, using a systems thinking approach. This study also highlighted the importance of evaluating the national programmes from the perspective of health system needs and readiness for successful transitioning from control to elimination phase.