‘World Malaria Report 2020’

Published: 7th Dec, 2020

India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden, as per the World Malaria Report 2020.

Context

India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden, as per the World Malaria Report 2020.

About

Malaria is an acute febrile illness.
Caused by: Malaria is caused by Plasmodium The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anophelesmosquitoes, called "malaria vectors."
- There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species – falciparumand P. vivax – pose the greatest threat.
Symptoms: The first symptoms – fever, headache, and chills – may be mild and difficult to recognize as malaria.
Transmission: In most cases, malaria is transmitted through the bites of female Anopheles

Key-highlights of the Report

India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6 per cent in 2019 as compared to 2018 as far as malaria cases are concerned.
The Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 27.6 per cent in 2018 as compared to 2017, and by 18.4 per cent in 2019 as compared to 2018. India has sustained API less than one since year 2012.
India has also contributed to the largest drop in such cases region-wide, from approximately 20 million to about 6 million.
The percentage drop in the malaria cases was 71.8 per cent and deaths was 73.9 per cent between 2000 to 2019.
India achieved a reduction of 83.34 per cent in malaria morbidity and 92 per cent in malaria mortality between the year 2000 (20,31,790 cases, 932 deaths) and 2019 (3,38,494 cases, 77 deaths), thereby achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals (50-75 per cent decrease in case incidence between 2000 and 2019).

Government’s Malaria elimination efforts

Malaria elimination efforts were initiated in the country in 2015 and intensified after the launch of the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) in 2016 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22) was launched by the health ministry in July, 2017 which laid down strategies for the next five years.

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