NEW DELHI: The number of states/UTs falling with high malaria burden in India has come down from 10 in 2015 to 2 in 2023, latest data shared by the health ministry shows. A state/UT is considered to have ‘high burden’, also referred to as category 3, if it has more than 1 malaria case per 1,000 population under surveillance.
According to the health ministry, from 2015 to 2023, numerous states have transitioned from the higher-burden category to the significantly lower or zero-burden category.
In 2015, the ministry said, 10 states and UTs were classified as high burden (Category 3), of these, in 2023 only two states (Mizoram & Tripura) remain in Category 3, whereas 4 states such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya, have reduced the caseload and moved to Category 2.
A state/UT is considered to fall under ‘category 2’ if it has less than 1 malaria case per 1,000 population under surveillance, but some districts have higher disease prevalence.
Latest surveillance data shows 4 States, namely, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have moved to Category 1 – when a state has less than 1 malaria case across all districts.
“In 2015, only 15 states were in Category 1, whereas in 2023, 24 states and UTs (progressed from high/medium-burden categories to Category 1, reporting an API of less than 1 case per 1000 population),” said a senior official.
Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry are in Category 0 i.e. zero indigenous Malaria cases, according to the latest surveillance data. These areas are now eligible for subnational verification of malaria elimination.
A senior official of the health ministry said that the dramatic decline in malaria cases in the country reflected the relentless efforts to combat the disease. “Both, Malaria cases and deaths have dropped by around 80% from 2015-2023, with cases going down from 11.69 lakh in 2015 to 2.27 lakh in 2023, while deaths falling from 384 to just 83,” the official added.
India has initiated multiple strategies for malaria elimination over the past decade for example Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and the distribution of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) to curtail mosquito populations and disrupt the transmission cycle.
Community integration has played a vital role in India’s malaria elimination journey. The inclusion of malaria prevention and treatment services in Ayushman Bharat health packages has ensured that even the most vulnerable populations have access to essential healthcare, said a senior official in the health ministry.
