The World Malaria Report has been recently released and it speaks volumes about the spread of malaria and its impacts on life in India. It clearly depicts the number of malaria cases in the country at present and the number of deaths it has caused. At present, there is an estimated 33.8 lakh cases in India, and the mosquito-borne infection has led to 5,511 deaths in the country. Fortunately, it is good to know that there has been a decrease in malaria incidence of 30% in the year 2022. Additionally, in 2022, there has been a decline of 34% in mortality, as compared to the year before.
It is important to take into consideration the 2030 target of the WHO South East Asian region of decreasing the malaria cases and deaths caused by them by 90%.
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases remained the same for almost a decade globally. However. ever since the onset of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the incidence of malaria all over the globe.
The number of cases had seen a drop to 233 million from 242 million on a global front between the years 2000 and 2019. However, the year 2020 saw a huge surge of 11 million cases. The number of cases remained almost constant in the year 2021 as well. However, then came a surge in the number of cases by 5 million in the year 2022 to 249 million. An increase has been recorded in the number of cases caused by malaria as well after the pandemic hit. For instance, in 2019, the death toll caused by malaria was 576,000. However, in 2022, there were a total of 608,000 deaths recorded.
What exactly is the World Malaria Report?
The World Malaria Report gives updated and comprehensive assessments of the trends in malaria elimination and control all over the world. The report also depicts investments in malaria research and programs. It also talks about the progress of malaria control and elimination across all areas of intervention such as prevention, diagnosis, cure, surveillance, and elimination of the mosquito-borne infection.
The recent World Malaria Report of 2022 is based on the data gathered from a total of 84 malaria-endemic nations in all the WHO regions.
What factors have led to the decline of malaria cases in India?
Fortunately, India has seen a decline in the cases of malaria as per the recent World Malaria Report of 2022. However, this decline in the cases is not a fluke. The credit for this success story can be given to the country's great deal of focus on offering primary healthcare even to the remotest regions of the country.
Additionally, high-end surveillance supported by digital data has also contributed to bringing the number of malaria cases in the country down. India has also been mastering handling extreme weather incidences like cyclones, and this has surely contributed to a lower number of malaria cases in the country.
The cases of malaria and deaths caused by malaria have seen a sharp decline, and sound preventive measures are seen as a key motivating factor. The country has incessantly made use of effective tools in order to keep the population of mosquitoes in check. Not to miss, the use of care tests for speedy diagnosis has also been of great benefit to India. Also, as per the former director of the National Institute of Malaria Research, Dr Neena Valecha, sound management of the cases of mosquito-borne infection in the country has also been a contributing factor to the decrease in the number of cases.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation