Ministry appoints independent agency for improved surveillance of the vector-borne disease
As elimination of malaria has been difficult due to under-reporting of cases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has tasked an independent agency to report out the actual numbers of the cases.
Government officials think the actual number of malaria cases could be 9 to 50 times greater than those reported by India’s National Vector Borne Disease Programme (NVBDCP). Malaria-related deaths are suspected to be 13 times higher that the official figures.
Under-reporting of cases makes it challenging to accurately estimate true burden and population at risk.
“Under-reporting of malaria cases is a major problem. We have commissioned an independent agency to fill in the gap. The agency will work with district hospitals and other healthcare institutions on collating data on the on-ground numbers, including number of deaths by malaria, and submit a consolidated report,” said Dr AC Dhariwal, Director at NVBDCP.
“While the Union Health Ministry has issued directions to states for mandatory reporting of malaria cases, many hospitals and healthcare institutions do not provide the data. Chances of success in reducing the incidence of malaria via the implementation of both national and state interventions can improve manifolds if we know the real burden of the disease,” he said.
India is also facing a shortage of funds to tackle the disease. Earlier this year, the Union Health Ministry launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) to chart a roadmap for malaria elimination. NFME has outlined India’s strategy for elimination of the disease by 2030.
India’s malaria programme is funded by the Central government and the Global Fund. In 2015, India’s NVBDCP received a three-year grant of US $ 104.5 million from the Global Fund to boost malaria surveillance, early diagnosis, and treatment.
“The central government allocates approximately US $45 million for malaria per year. However, the NFME estimates that a total of US $18 billion is needed to achieve India’s 2030 malaria elimination goal. Enhanced domestic financing and cross-border collaboration is critical in achieving the goal,” said Dr Dhariwal.
Around 15 low- and 11 moderate-burden states and union territories are targeting elimination by 2022. Two states that have demonstrated success in malaria control are Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has achieved a 60 per cent decrease in the number of cases since 2011. With 596 cases in 2015, Punjab could be the first to be declared malaria-free by the Union Health Ministry. Most states are yet to scale up their efforts for malaria elimination.
As per estimates, around 214 million new cases of malaria were reported in 2015, and approximately 4.38 lakh died of it. The Malaria Elimination Group, an independent international advisory committee convened by the Global Health Group at the University of California, San Francisco, is meeting this week in Chennai to discuss strategies to shrink the global malaria map and take stock of India’s efforts to eliminate the disease.
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