In a recent Comment, MARC SE-Africa consortium members Eulambius M Mlugu, Arjen M Dondorp, and Karen I Barnes call on all African countries in which malaria is endemic to develop and implement a detailed action plan to prevent and react to artemisinin partial resistance (ART-R).

The authors emphasise the great need for regional and cross-border collaboration in tackling ART-R by leveraging regional initiatives such as the East African Community’s Great Lakes Malaria Initiative. Countries can share data and lessons within such initiatives to co-design prompt and effective ART-R response strategies.

According to the authors, swift action is key. High rates of ACT treatment failure in Africa would be catastrophic, jeopardising the treatment of hundreds of millions of patients each year.

Only a few countries are actively addressing this issue, so prompt action from multiple stakeholders throughout the region is crucial.