Malaria remains a major health challenge in India, especially in rural areas. Efforts are being made to control and eliminate the disease.
India has made notable progress in reducing malaria incidence and mortality rates, as highlighted in the latest global malaria report by the World Health Organization (WHO). (1✔ ✔Trusted source
Malaria – World Health Organization (WHO)
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Malaria: new knowledge
Malaria is a life-threatening disease transmitted to humans by female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. The report showed that the number of estimated malaria cases in India decreased to 2 million cases in 2023 from 6.4 million in 2017 (a decrease of 69 percent). Similarly, estimated malaria deaths decreased from 11,100 to 3,500 (a 68 percent decrease) during the same period. As a result, “India exited high burden, high impact (HBHI) program group officially in 2024,” the WHO said. The HBHI approach is a targeted malaria response used in several countries to accelerate the pace of malaria elimination in countries with a high malaria burden. India joined the HBHI initiative in July 2019. The HBHI initiative was launched in four states of India: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Region had eight malaria-endemic countries in 2023, accounting for 4 million cases and contributing 1.5 percent of the global malaria case burden. Just over 48 percent of all estimated cases in the region were due to P. vivax.
However, from 2000 to 2023, malaria cases fell by 82.4 percent, from 22.8 million in 2000, and incidence fell by 87.0 percent, from 17.7 to 2, 3 per 1,000 inhabitants at risk, according to the report. “The decline can be mainly explained by a decline in India of 17.7 million estimated cases and a decline in incidence of 93 percent, from 20 to 1.5 per 1,000 population at risk,” the WHO reported.
At the same time, India and Indonesia accounted for about 88 percent of all estimated malaria deaths. in this region in 2023. Notably, the region’s Bhutan and Timor-Leste reported zero malaria deaths since 2013 and 2015, respectively, while Sri Lanka was certified malaria-free in 2016. Member countries, accompanied by actions tangible efforts and tireless efforts over the years down to the subnational level,” said Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia.
“However, accelerated efforts against malaria must continue, to eliminate the disease in countries where malaria persists and to maintain progress in countries where the disease is declining or has been eliminated,” he added. Globally, WHO data reveals that approximately 2.2 billion cases of malaria and 12.7 million deaths have been prevented since 2000, but the disease remains a serious threat to global health, particularly in the African Region of the WHO.
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In 2023, there were an estimated 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths from malaria worldwide, representing around 11 million more cases in 2023 compared to 2022, and almost the same number of deaths. “An expanded package of life-saving tools now offers better protection against the disease, but greater investments and measures are needed in high-incidence countries to curb the threat,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.
Reference:
- Malaria – World Health Organization (WHO) – (https://www.who.int/india/health-topics/malaria)
Source-IANS
