Health

KEY POINTS

·         India has a high incidence of malaria and it is committed to eliminate malaria by 2030.

What is malaria?

·         A disease caused by a plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes (usually female anopheles mosquitos).

·         Symptoms of the disease includes chills, fever and sweating, usually occurring a few weeks after being bitten.

·         It is preventable through a Malaria vaccine and it is curable disease.

Challenges in eliminating Malaria

·         True numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not known. The scale and distribution of this devastating disease is not well documented.

·         Majority of malaria in India is diagnosed and treated (or commonly misdiagnosed and mistreated) in the private sector.

·         Private Doctors and clinics have no obligation to follow government guidelines, use recommended drugs, or report malaria cases to State authorities.

·         Each year, the private sector procures nearly 10 million injections of ArtemisininMonotherapy, a treatment that is strongly discouraged in India and elsewhere because it accelerates the development of deadly drug resistance.

·         The misuse of malaria drugs in India is an irony, given that India is by far the largest supplier of high-quality approved malaria drugs to the rest of the world.

What measures needs to be taken?

·         In 2017, India launched national strategic plan for malaria elimination, awareness about the plan needs to be created through campaigns.

·         National initiatives must promote innovative strategies, incentivize the appropriate use of diagnostics, drugs and insecticides, and ensure that all malaria cases are reported.

·         The most affected States must aggressively bring their malaria down using effective vector-control and case management practices, combined with robust surveillance systems.

·         States will have to tailor their programmes to achieve elimination, especially in tribal areas where the burden of malaria is often the highest.

·         A single approach to malaria elimination will not work in any large country, especially in India where the biology, entomology and epidemiology of the disease vary considerably.

·         Thus partnership between communities, civil society, private sector, and public health agencies is required.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease affecting humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later.

Challenges:

• The true numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not known.
• Malaria exists in all States in India, and 95 per cent of Indians are at risk. 
• Majority of malaria in India is diagnosed and treated in the private sector.
• Private doctors and clinics have no obligation to follow government guidelines, use recommended drugs, or report malaria cases to State authorities, and all types of drugs are used, including those that are either worthless or harmful.
• The misuse of malaria drugs in India is contributing to development of deadly drug resistance
• Sewage treatment in rural and tribal areas is lacking
• Population explosion, migration.

Government initiatives:

• India launched its national strategic plan for malaria elimination - National Malaria Eradication Programme in 1958.
• National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) 

Way forward:

• National initiatives must promote innovative strategies, incentivise the appropriate use of diagnostics, drugs and insecticides, and ensure that all malaria cases are reported.
• State - State cooperation and coordination.
• Promoting effective vector-control and case management practices, combined with robust surveillance systems.
• Partnership between communities, civil society, private sector, and public health agencies.
• Focus on tribal areas where the burden of malaria is often the highest.
• Control mosquitoes by promoting vector control methods, utilising Swatchh bharat for promoting cleanliness and sanitation.