Antimalarial drug resistance The emergence in Southeast Asia and the subsequent global spread of drug resistant malaria was a major factor contributing to the failure of the first global malaria eradication campaign in the mid-20th century (1). The widespread implementation of highly effective artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for malaria has contributed to significant gains in global control and elimination efforts and has brought malaria eradication back on the agenda, 40 years after the first global malaria eradication campaign was abandoned (2). However the gains seen in the past decade are now at risk as parasite resistance to artemisinin compounds has been confirmed in Southeast Asia and threatens Africa once again (3-8). In the absence of effective vaccines, it is critical to prolong the usable life of antimalarial drugs by judicious implementation of treatment strategies.