Bhubaneswar: In a major achievement, Odisha has recorded around 95 per cent decline in malaria cases since 2016 following targeted interventions by the state government.
The success in the battle against malaria had brought appreciation from the WHO and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
As per official statistics, the malaria-positive cases have declined from 4.44 lakh cases in 2016 to 23,770 in 2022. Malaria deaths have also dropped from 77 to five during the period.
Substantial fall in positivity rate seems to be paving the way for the elimination of the vector-borne disease by 2030. While 4.44 lakh cases were detected from 7.21 lakh samples in 2016, only 23,770 were found positive among 8.16 lakh samples last year.
As Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra puts it, Odisha has made significant progress in controlling malaria over the last six years and the rate of reduction of the vectorborne disease is highest in the state.
The positivity rate has come down from 6.17 pc to 0.29 pc. The annual parasite index (API) has also come down to less than one in most of the districts. The state has reported its all-time low API and many districts are currently on the path of malaria elimination, he said.
The significant reduction in malaria cases is because of integrated intervention and strengthened strategies like the state-led programme Durgama Anchlare Malaria Nirakarana (DAMaN), health officials said. More than 20,000 malaria eradication camps were held in different parts of the state between 2018-2022 and people in malaria-prone districts were distributed around 1.57 crore long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs), they said.
Odisha was once contributing 25 per cent of the country’s annual malaria cases and 30 per cent of deaths. DAMaN was put into action in 2017 to address the population living in unreachable areas along with special surveillance for zero validation of malaria cases in 24 districts, Mishra said.
It may be noted that the state government has extended DAMaN for five more years in 21 districts in an effort to achieve malaria elimination.
