India has achieved a significant milestone in its battle against malaria, reducing both malaria cases and mortality rates substantially, according to the World Malaria Report released on Wednesday. The report reveals a 69% drop in malaria cases, from 6.4 million in 2017 to 2 million in 2023. In the same period, malaria-related deaths decreased by 68%, from 11,100 to 3,500.
As a result, India has officially exited the High-Burden-High-Impact (HBHI) group of endemic countries, marking a major victory in its ongoing efforts to control and eventually eliminate malaria. The World Malaria Report remains a critical tool for assessing global progress in the fight against the disease.
Dr Daniel Madandi, Director of Global Malaria Programme, said, “India has made progress in reducing the malaria burden because of its multi-sectoral approach and political commitment to bring down the burden.
“It’s never as fast as we would like, and there are some worrying plateaus but the trends are still encouraging. Apart from India, countries like Liberia and Rwanda have seen huge drops in cases,” added Dr Arnaud Le Menach, lead author of this year’s report and head of the Strategic Information for Response unit within the WHO Global Malaria Programme. According to the report, targeted interventions resulted in improved access to diagnostics, treatments and drugs. New generation insecticide-treated nets, which provide better protection against malaria than the standard pyrethroid-only nets, are being deployed more widely.
As per the Report, estimated malaria cases in the WHO South-East Asia Region fell from 22.8 million in 2000 to 4 million in 2023 – a reduction of 82.4%. The Region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, accounted for 1.5% global malaria cases in 2023. Estimated malaria deaths in the Region fell by 82.9%, from 35 000 in 2000 to 6000 in 2023. More than 270 million malaria cases and 420 000 malaria deaths have been averted in the Region between 2000 and 2023.
“The progress follows highest ever political commitment by Member countries, matched by tangible actions and unstinted efforts over the years down to the sub-national level. However, accelerated efforts against malaria must continue – to eliminate the disease in countries where malaria persists, and to sustain the progress in countries where the disease is on the decline or has been eliminated,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia.
In 2022-2023, four countries in the Region achieved reduction in their malaria caseload – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal besides. Three countries saw increase in cases – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Thailand and Myanmar. Timor-Leste and Bhutan reported zero indigenous cases of malaria.
Overall, the Region remains on track to reach the WHO’s Global Technical Strategy (GTS 2016-2030) targets to reduce malaria case incidence and deaths by at least 90% by 2030. Two countries in the Region – Maldives and Sri Lanka were certified malaria-free by WHO in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Timor-Leste has not reported any case of indigenous malaria for three years. Bhutan reported zero indigenous cases for the second consecutive year in 2023, and Nepal reported only 15 indigenous cases.
Cautioning against any complacency, the Regional Director said, “We must not forget that the risk of malaria not only persists but could increase due to factors such as climate change. We must continue to do all we can to accelerate our progress against malaria.”
Till date, the WHO has certified 44 countries and one territory as malaria-free – including, most recently, Egypt.
