The Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (APLMA) joins with Yoma Strategic and Shopee to end malaria

SINGAPORE, Aug. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — To mark World Mosquito Day, the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (APLMA) will expand its efforts to end malaria through a new partnership with Yoma Strategic Holdings (“Yoma Strategic”) and an awareness campaign with e-commerce platform Shopee. This collaboration comes through M2030, a platform launched in April which engages international health organizations, consumers and prominent business leaders in eliminating malaria by 2030.

Established on World Malaria Day 2018, the M2030 initiative aims to reach close to 50 million people in the coming years to raise awareness about the urgent need to end malaria in the Asia Pacific region and to fund crucial programmes to stop this devastating disease.

Yoma Strategic joined this collective today at a special launch ceremony in Yangon. The organisation will spearhead the M2030 initiative in Myanmar through various private sector engagements, including planned campaigns with Wave Money, a mobile financial service agent network, and Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals. These campaigns will be executed through social media, as well as panel and roundtable discussions to support fundraising and malaria education.

“In Myanmar, an estimated 31 million people are at risk of contracting malaria^[i]. Along the border, we see particular challenges with high rates of transmission and drug-resistance,” said Melvyn Pun, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Yoma Strategic Holdings. “As an organization with deep roots in Myanmar, we are proud to partner with APLMA and M2030 to champion this cause and to stop malaria’s impact within our own borders.”

Shopee, one of M2030’s pioneer partners, launched its second regional educational campaign to raise awareness of the prevalence of malaria in Asia. The campaign, held across multiple markets in the lead up to World Mosquito Day, was able to reach out to millions of users across the region.

“As a homegrown company, it is important that we do our part to improve the lives of consumers across the region. We aim to leverage our reach in each of our markets to raise awareness and educate users on how they can contribute to a meaningful cause. This series of educational pushes is part of our long-term partnership with M2030, and Shopee will continue to work closely with M2030 to roll out more initiatives to support the fight against malaria in Asia,” said Chris Feng, Chief Executive Officer of Shopee.

Patrik Silborn, Head of External Relations at APLMA, further commented, “Malaria elimination is a big job, but it is also achievable. Bringing new partners, fresh perspectives and innovative thinking into this effort gives us the best opportunity to get over the finish line. I am confident that the valued support of Yoma Strategic and Shopee will drive us even closer to achieving this important goal.”

The partnership with Yoma Strategic and Shopee will see continued efforts to support malaria education, as well as public health initiatives like the testing and treatment of the disease in the region.

M2030 is a partnership comprised of Tahir Foundation, DT Families Foundation, Dentsu Aegis Network, Outdoor Channel Asia, Shopee, Yoma, WaveMoney and Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals.

About APLMA
APLMA is an affiliation of Asia and Pacific heads of government, formed to accelerate progress against malaria and to eliminate it in the region by 2030. APLMA was created by the East Asian Summit (EAS) leaders in 2013 to further strengthen anti-malaria efforts, both to help protect hard-won national gains and, ultimately, to defeat malaria in the region altogether.

About Yoma Strategic Holdings
Listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Securities Exchange Trading Limited (SGX-ST), Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. is a leading business corporation with a diversified portfolio of businesses in Real Estate, Consumer, Automotive & Heavy Equipment, Financial Services and Investments in Myanmar. Together with its partner, the SPA Group, the Group is taking a conglomerate approach to build a diversified portfolio of businesses in Myanmar. The Company was ranked in the top 5% of the Governance and Transparency Index 2018, ranked 26th out of top 100 largest Singapore companies in the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard 2017 and won the Best Managed Board (Gold) Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards in 2016.

About Shopee
Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It is a platform tailored for the region, providing customers with an easy, secure and fast online shopping experience through strong payment and logistical support. Shopee aims to continually enhance its platform and become the region’s e-commerce destination of choice.

Shopee has a wide selection of product categories ranging from consumer electronics to home & living, health & beauty, baby & toys, fashion and fitness equipment.

Shopee, a Sea company, was first launched in Singapore in 2015, and has since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sea is a leader in digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services across Greater Southeast Asia. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology, and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SE.

For any media enquiries, please contact:  

APLMA
Patrik Silborn
Tel: +65 (0) 8411 3061
Email: psilborn@aplma.org

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