India has been a place of several unique diseases which are mostly due to its geographical location. WHO has said in its recent report that India will be unable to reduce its malaria cases significantly by 2020. India along with sub-Sahara countries are on the list who are still to make their country a malaria-free country. More than 90% of the population is in the malaria endemic area.
Whereas countries like Maldive and Srilanka has been declared Malaria free in 2015, India still accounts for 6% of the total cases in the world. WHO report says India’s spending per person is quite low which becomes a detrimental factor in making India a malaria-free nation. A total of 4,45 000 deaths were caused due to it in the year 2016. India remains at high risk. World malaria report points out the weak surveillance system in India which detects only 8% of malaria cases.
National vector-borne disease control program is run in India which records and monitors vector-borne diseases in India. It reports that 673474 malaria cases have found in India where More than 80 have died due to it. The Indian healthcare system after so many plans had not been able to become a malaria-free nation. It is a life-threatening disease caused by the bite of Anopheles mosquito. The government has started a scheme of distributing insecticide-treated mosquito net for prevention of disease.
Malaria Free World
Multiple policies and health schemes are put forward by the various state government to solve this impending crisis. India can find inspiration from its polio scheme program which became a symbol of strength and determination of the state government and bureaucracy. The lack of attention from the state machinery and political will has created a kind of situation where there is no talk of better health care policies for the people. The day the healthcare and better government service become the agenda of public concern, we might be able to create a proper health care system.
The lack of infrastructure investment is another major issue in the healthcare. While malaria is an ancient disease in India which can be found even in the scripture and Vedas. It is one of the major problems in India, mainly due to urbanization, drought, migration of workers and inefficient controlling efforts. Multiple programs have been launched by the various government for complete eradication of the disease but that remains a long distant dream for the Indian population in the coming years.
It is estimated that due to increase in the global warming, It will still be a problem for India till the 2050s. Once considered mainly a rural disease, it has spread into nearly every part of India. According to world malaria report 2017 presented by the WHO, the key challenges faced by the world to get rid of it are lack of sustainable and predictable international and domestic funding and anamolous climate patterns etc. We can be the one leading march into making the India free of this disease by the end of 2020.
