[Comment] Diversifying antimalarial treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Uganda

Antimalarial drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is on the increase in sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, the current first-line treatment of uncomplicated P falciparum malaria is with one of the six different artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), in which the short-acting artemisinin component rapidly reduces the initial parasite burden, and the slower eliminated and less potent partner drug is needed to clear the remaining parasites. Artemisinin resistance emerged in the Greater Mekong Subregion of southeast Asia two decades ago, but has over the past few years emerged independently in several African countries, including Uganda, and is spreading.