Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has identified sensitive districts of Odisha where the cases of malaria have been frequently reported with effect from 2019 till date, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has made any plan to focus on eradication of malaria particularly in the said districts; and
(c) if so, the steps taken or being taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a): Yes. Malaria is prevalent in all the districts of Odisha. However, there are 7 districts which have Annual Parasite Incidence (API) > 1. The epidemiological details are at Annexure – 1.
(b) & (c): Odisha is a high malaria endemic State. As per National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) it falls in category 3, and is targeted for elimination by 2027.
Steps taken by the Government of India in this regard are :
• Supply of necessary logistics like insecticides, Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) [11.34 million LLINs were supplied to Odisha in 2017 and 2.65 million are under pipeline by Government of India] for vector control and to prevent transmission of diseases in the community.
• Supply of anti-malaria drugs, Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) for early diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
• State has been advised to form State specific action plan.
• Regular meetings with the State to review malaria situation and suggest necessary actions.
• Regular trainings at all levels of health workers involved in Malaria programme.
• Sufficient budget provisioning for Information, Education and Communication (IEC) in Malaria at the community level.
• Regular monitoring through monthly reports.
As a result of all these intensive measures, the incidence of Malaria has drastically come down in the State. In the year 2016, Odisha was contributing 40.9% of total malaria cases in the country i.e. 444843 cases out of 1087285 cases, and contributed to 23.3% of the death cases i.e. 77 deaths out of total of 331 cases in the country. As contrasted to this, in the year 2019, as per the provisional data upto December 2019, Odisha has contributed only 11.8% of malaria cases in the country i.e. 39557 cases out of 334693 cases. The deaths contributed are 14%, i.e. 7 cases out of total 50 deaths in the country.