Malaria Cases Double In The Capital, 177 Reported Till Now

Delhi's fight against malaria just took a turn for the worse as recent data suggests that the number of reported cases for the disease in the nation's capital have doubled. The number has reached an exorbitant 177, compared to 90 and 60 which was the count in the year 2016 and 2015. WHO has also stated that India is home for 75% of all malaria cases in South-East Asia. Unfortunately, the control measures for the disease have been mostly ineffective, as the aforementioned data also suggests.

"North corporation has recorded maximum 29 malaria cases, followed by south (15) and east (8). The rest of the cases have been reported from other civic agencies and neighboring states," said an official.

This July, the government had launched a national strategic plan to eliminate malaria and eradicate the vector-borne disease by 2027. "Today we are here for the launch of the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22) which gives strategies for working towards the ultimate goal of elimination of malaria by 2030," Union Health Minister J P Nadda had elaborated. The newly introduced plan has a time period of five years and will work progressively to achieve this goal. Dr Suchaxaya Prakin, acting WHO representative to India said that the new policy is an important step for the elimination of malaria in the country.

"Inter-sectoral coordination is the key, we have to work together with the other ministries and municipal corporations to achieve the desired results," the minister said. It is evident that the officials are working to eradicate this disease but some measures need to be inculcate to control the present situation.

Also read: World Malaria Day 2017: Prevent Malaria, Save Lives 

COMMENT