India Poised To Be Malaria-Free By 2030: Health Ministry

NEW DELHI: India has achieved a remarkable milestone in its fight against malaria with cases dropping from 75 million annually at the time of independence in 1947 to 2 million in 2023, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced on Wednesday. Malaria-related deaths have also seen a dramatic decline, from 800,000 per year in 1947 to 83 in 2023.

The ministry highlighted that in 122 districts, there was no report of fresh malaria cases, which goes on to indicate the effectiveness of public health interventions. According to the World Health Organization's World Malaria Report 2024, India has come out of the High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) group due to significant declines in malaria cases.

Government data indicate a reduction of 80% of malaria cases from 2015 to 2023 and new cases are declining from 1,169,261 in 2015 to 227,564 in 2023.

The same trend has been observed among the high-burden states and union territories. In 2015, 10 states and UTs were high burden; however, only Mizoram and Tripura fell into that category in 2023. Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya fell in category 2 and their malaria incidence has been steadily declining.

Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands have graduated to category 1 with an annual parasite incidence of less than 1 per 1,000 population. Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, which have now graduated to category 0, have zero indigenous malaria cases and qualify for subnational verification of malaria elimination.

The report credited this progress to strengthened surveillance, early detection, timely intervention, and effective treatment and highlighted the comprehensive strategies employed in the fight against malaria nationwide.

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