Plasmodium vivax is now the predominant cause of malaria outside sub-Saharan Africa and is considered to be a key obstacle to malaria elimination.

The unique biology of P. vivax with features such as the latent hypnozoite stage and early gametocytogenesis makes it more difficult to control and eliminate than P. falciparum. The development of P. vivax-specific interventions is thus clearly a priority for the malaria elimination research agenda. Development of tools that will allow the program to accelerate towards P. vivax elimination requires a bench-to-bedside-to-public health approach that facilitates collaborative, interdisciplinary research.

The International Conferences on Plasmodium vivax Research (ICPVR) are the only global series of conferences dedicated entirely to research on P. vivax malaria. ICPVR 2019 will bring together 250-300 researchers working on diverse aspects of P. vivax research from basic cell and molecular biology to field epidemiology, vector and clinical studies.

The conference will serve as an excellent opportunity to review progress made in different areas of P. vivax research, define knowledge gaps and provide opportunities to researchers to explore collaborative research strategies to address them. Overall the goal of the meeting is to provide a platform that highlights work on P. vivax, which has often been neglected, but is extremely important in the fight to eliminate malaria.