GUWAHATI: A high-level ‘Indo-Bhutan Bilateral Meeting on Cross-Border Malaria Elimination’ was held on Wednesday in Guwahati to discuss a collaborative strategy for eradicating malaria. The meeting prioritized malaria elimination in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and the bordering districts of Bhutan.
The meeting brought together officials and health experts from India and Bhutan to make a plan to fight malaria, a major health issue in the border area. It was organized by the South-East Asia Regional Coordination Mechanism Forum and focused on the recent rise in malaria cases along the India-Bhutan border.
The participants looked at the current malaria situation across the border and discussed what actions are needed to prevent future outbreaks and speed up efforts to eliminate malaria. The main goal was to involve parliament members and get their support in gathering resources from communities and within their countries to make sure malaria elimination efforts last in their areas.
At the meeting, key strategies included improving monitoring by sharing data in real-time and screening people in border districts. The plan also focused on finding malaria cases early, with house-to-house searches in every village and community every 15 days.
Participants talked about using effective methods to control mosquitoes, like putting treated materials on walls to reduce mosquito breeding. They also agreed that it’s important to make sure people can easily reach healthcare across borders for quick diagnosis and treatment of malaria. Officials stressed that better monitoring, involving the community, and using new mosquito control methods are key to eliminating malaria.
The meeting was attended by Bhutan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dasho Sanjay Khandu, BTR Chief Executive Member (CEM) Pramod Boro, BTC Executive Member (EM) Ranjit Basumatary, Rajya Sabha MPs Rameswar Teli and Bhubaneswar Kalita, along with senior officials and health experts from both India and Bhutan.
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