According to WHO’s (World Health Organisation) latest World Malaria Report 2021, globally there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627000 malaria deaths in 85 malaria-endemic countries in 2020, increasing from 227 million in 2019.
- As per the report, there are about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 69000 more deaths.
- The 2021 edition of the report analysed the impact of disruptions to malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the COVID-19.
- In the case of India, the rate of decline of the disease was slower than before the COVID-19.
Report on India’s Status:
i.Globally, India accounts for 1.7 percent of malaria deaths in 2020. As per the report, India was the only high-burden country to have sustained a reduction in the disease burden.
ii.South-East Asia: India shares over 83 percent of the malaria cases and 82 percent of all malaria deaths in the WHO South-East Asia Region, from about 18 cases per 1000 population at risk in 2000 to about 3 cases in 2020.
iii.India is a signatory to the Ministerial Declaration on Accelerating and Sustaining Malaria Elimination in the South-East Asia Region.
iv.The National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016–2030 was launched in February 2016 by India.
Key Points of the Report:
i.In 2021, WHO certified two countries China and El Salvador as malaria-free, and a further 25 are on track to end malaria transmission by 2025.
ii.Globally, malaria case incidence (i.e. cases per 1000 population at risk) reduced from 81 in 2000 to 59 in 2015 and 56 in 2019, before increasing again to 59 in 2020 (due to COVID-19).
iii.The WHO African Region, with an estimated 228 million cases in 2020, accounted for about 95 percent of cases.
iv.Of the 31 countries that had planned insecticide-treated mosquito net campaigns in 2020, only 18 completed their campaigns by the end of 2021.
Recent Related News:
Malaria No More, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in partnership with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) & Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) established an India Interagency Expert Committee on Malaria and Climate (IEC) to explore and advance climate-based solutions for accelerating malaria elimination in India.
About World Health Organisation (WHO):
Establishment – 1948
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
Director-General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
