A three-day Malaria Elimination Program Management Training Course was held from December 6 to 8, 2025, at the Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases Research Base of the Pasteur Institute of Iran in Akanlu, Hamedan. The event was organized by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and the Ministry of Health’s Center for Communicable Diseases Management, in collaboration with instructors from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Tehran University of Medical Sciences School of Public Health, and several other Iranian medical universities. The workshop aimed to share expertise with newly appointed national malaria elimination program experts. It featured senior officials, including the Director General of the Pasteur Institute of Iran, the Director of the Vector-Borne Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health, and a WHO representative. These speakers emphasized Iran's commitment to malaria elimination and discussed regional challenges and strategic approaches.

Technical sessions covered a comprehensive range of topics essential for elimination efforts, such as the biology of malaria parasites, principles of microscopic and molecular diagnosis, laboratory quality assurance, and the molecular monitoring of drug resistance. Further sessions addressed vector control methods, insecticide resistance evaluation, and the bionomics of Anopheles mosquitoes. Clinical management modules focused on case detection, treatment protocols for uncomplicated and severe malaria, and the classification of disease foci for targeted intervention. The Akanlu research base, established in 1952 for plague control, now serves as a national and international training hub in field epidemiology and emerging diseases, having trained over 750 professionals from 52 Iranian universities and 25 countries. It also houses the country's National Molecular Reference Laboratory for Malaria, which was established within the institute's Malaria and Vector Department in 2000. The department's mission is to combat malaria through applied research aligned with WHO strategies.