New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) With India accounting for six per cent of the global malaria burden in 2016, a union minister on Wednesday said the majority of malaria cases in the country are reported from the country's bordering districts, forests and tribal areas, and most other parts of the country remain malaria free.
Speaking at an event, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda said: "The focus on the bordering districts and empowering local authorities with information, tools and knowledge will help reduce malaria cases in India and its neighbours. India as a hub for research and science would also support malaria implementation research as well as capacity building in health research."
The event -- a three-day ministerial roundtable on accelerating elimination of malaria in the South-East Asia region -- is in consonance with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on consolidation and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria.
The minister also unveiled the Regional Action Plan (2017-2030) on the occasion.
India recorded six per cent of the world's new malaria cases in 2016 which stood at 216 million, according to the World Malaria Report 2017 by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to the global health body, 15 countries accounted for 80 per cent of all malaria cases globally in 2016. Nigeria accounted for the highest proportion of cases globally at 27 per cent. The Democratic Republic of Congo had 10 per cent, India 6 per cent and Mozambique recorded 4 per cent of the global malaria cases.
India also saw a total of 331 malaria deaths in 2016, making it the highest in the entire Southeast Asia region. The malaria deaths in India were only less than WHO's Africa region where the figure soared as high as 33,997 for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Odisha, the highest endemic state of India, reported an increase in cases in 2016 (double the number in 2013). The other countries had no major outbreaks reported," the report read.
A book "Addressing the Challenge of Controlling Malaria Across International Border Lines" was also released at the event.
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