.svg)
.jpg)
This article was jointly developed by APLMA and Papua New Guinea National Malaria Control Programme.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) continues to bear the highest malaria burden in the WHO Western Pacific Region, accounting for approximately 65% of estimated malaria cases according to the World Malaria Report 2025. While significant investments have been made in malaria prevention and treatment, limited information exists on how people with disabilities experience malaria services and whether they face unique barriers to accessing care.
Emerging evidence suggests that disability may be far more common among people seeking malaria services than previously recognized. At the same time, barriers related to physical accessibility, communication, transportation, and social inclusion were limiting access to health services for many Papua New Guineans living with disabilities. Recognizing these challenges, the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) and PNG's National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) collaborated to strengthen disability-disaggregated data collection and generate evidence that could inform more inclusive malaria programming in Papua New Guinea.
In June 2026, APLMA in partnership with the National Department of Health's NMCP and the National Gender Program, concluded an important project aimed at addressing a critical gap in malaria programming: understanding the experiences and needs of persons living with disabilities. The project sought to generate evidence, identify barriers to care, and strengthen the integration of Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles into malaria policies and services across Papua New Guinea.
From Evidence Generation to Policy Action
The project was implemented in four districts of Central Province through the existing Home-Based Management of Malaria (HMM) network. Twenty community malaria volunteers were trained to collect disability-related information using an adapted version of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions (WGSS), a globally recognized tool for identifying disability. The project surveyed 219 people presenting with malaria-like illness across 20 HMM sites in Central Province.
Over five months, the project delivered several key activities including the integration of disability screening questions into malaria surveillance systems, training of community malaria volunteers on GEDSI concepts and inclusive service delivery, development of accessible malaria information, education and communication materials, collection and analysis of data on access barriers faced by persons with disabilities, development of policy recommendations and dissemination of findings at the National Malaria-GEDSI Dissemination Workshop held in Port Moresby on 1 June 2026. The workshop was attended by stakeholders from government, provincial health authorities, disability advocacy organizations, development partners, and community-level implementers. Depending on how disability was defined, the survey found that 65% of the respondents had some difficulty completing basic tasks like climbing stairs or washing and dressing themselves, and 18% had a lot of difficulty or were completely unable to complete one or more of the basic tasks listed in the questionnaire at all, highlighting the importance of routinely collecting disability-disaggregated health data.
Importantly, the survey identified several significant barriers affecting access to malaria services among people with disabilities:
Communication and Information Barriers
People with disabilities reported greater difficulty accessing and understanding malaria-related information. Hearing and visual impairments limited access to health messages, while some respondents reported that malaria information was too complicated to understand. Communication barriers persisted throughout the care pathway, affecting participants' ability to engage with health workers and understand treatment instructions.
Physical and Financial Barriers
Many respondents with disabilities experienced challenges travelling to health facilities, especially when support from family members or caregivers was unavailable. Transportation costs, inaccessible facilities, and difficulties navigating health centres were all identified as barriers to seeking timely care. Some respondents also reported negative experiences or communication challenges when interacting with healthcare providers.
Challenges in Prevention and Treatment
The survey revealed that people with disabilities were more likely to encounter difficulties using insecticide-treated bed nets and adhering to malaria treatment regimens. Participants reported challenges remembering medication schedules, reading medicine instructions, and obtaining assistance when needed. These barriers increase the risk of poorer health outcomes and highlight the need for more accessible and person-centred approaches to malaria care.
Limited Inclusion in Malaria Programs
The findings also showed that persons with disabilities were less likely to participate in malaria-related programmes and activities. This raises important questions about how malaria programmes engage vulnerable populations and whether existing approaches adequately account for diverse needs.
Translating Findings into Action
Moving beyond the documentation of challenges, the project also focused on identifying practical solutions to address barriers to accessing malaria services for people with disabilities. Key recommendations emerging from the survey included strengthening community-based malaria services, improving accessibility of health information, enhancing health worker capacity on GEDSI principles, and developing disability-inclusive communication materials tailored to different needs and abilities.
Participants also emphasized the need for stronger policy frameworks to systematically integrate disability and broader GEDSI considerations into malaria programmes. This includes ensuring that future planning, resource allocation, monitoring, and service delivery processes take into account the needs of women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized populations.
The findings from this project have laid the groundwork for embedding disability inclusion more systematically within malaria programmes in PNG. At this juncture, the findings have contributed to the development of accessible malaria information materials, disability-inclusive service delivery approaches, and evidence-based recommendations that can guide future policy and programming.
Building a More Inclusive Future
The completion of this project marks an important milestone in PNG's efforts to ensure that malaria elimination is truly inclusive. By generating new evidence on the experiences of persons with disabilities and translating those findings into practical recommendations, the project has laid the foundation for more equitable malaria services across the country.
As PNG implements its National Strategic Plan for Malaria 2026–2030, the lessons from this initiative provide a valuable roadmap for embedding GEDSI principles into malaria programming and ensuring that no one is left behind in the fight against malaria.
