New Delhi: India is no longer classified as a High-Burden-High-Impact (HBHI) group for malaria according to the World Malaria Report released on Wednesday (December 11).
According to the report, India has reduced its malaria caseload by 69% from 6.4 million in 2017 to 2 million in 2023. Registered deaths attributed to malaria too decreased by 69%, from 11,100 to 3500 during the same period.
Dr Rajni Kant Srivastava, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Chair for Disease Elimination told the Indian Express that this was possible due to Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN).
ACT works by killing most malaria parasites through one component [artemisinin], while a partner drug clears any remaining parasites. This, coupled with insecticide-treated nets or LLINs, which work by killing mosquitoes that come in contact with their insecticide coating, has made an impact, Srivastava said.
“The use of these tools in forested and tribal areas in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and North-East has made an impact,” he said, adding that effective monitoring and evaluation have helped with case management.
“India has made progress in reducing the malaria burden because of its multi-sectoral approach and political commitment to bring down the burden,” said Dr Daniel Madandi, Director of Global Malaria Programme.
“It’s never as fast as we would like, and there are some worrying plateaus but the trends are still encouraging. Apart from India, countries like Liberia and Rwanda have seen huge drops in cases,” added Dr Arnaud Le Menach, lead author of this year’s report and head of the Strategic Information for Response unit within the WHO Global Malaria Programme.
The report also provides global trends and data related to malaria control. Between 2000 and 2023, 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million malaria-related deaths were averted worldwide, it said.
