Vaccines may be the way forward for malaria eradication in India

Addressing the malaria mayhem in India

Globally, more than 429,000 people lost their lives to mosquito-borne illnesses in 2015, and millions are affected by the malarial infection every year, the outcome of which indicates patients who may not even recover completely for a considerable period of time. This is contributing to the overall burden of healthcare in India. From 2000 to 2015, a 62 percent reduction in malaria deaths has been noted, says WHO. The implementation of the urban malaria scheme (UMS) in 1971-72 and the modified plan of operation (MPO) in 1977 had helped in improving the malaria situation considerably. However, almost 22 percent of India’s population live in high transmission areas, and 67 percent live in low transmission areas, reveals the World Malaria Report 2014.

Focused awareness campaigns at regular intervals by doctors, healthcare workers, NGOs across India have proven to be impactful. But eradicating malaria and other tropical diseases in endemic countries such as ours needs a paradigm transformation in the way the disease is to be dealt with. Broadening the spectrum of universal immunisation coverage will surely play a significant role in achieving this goal with a long-lasting, tangible impact for improving health outcomes in the treatment of this disease.

Gearing up for immunisation: The road Ahead

Timely and efficient immunisation drives result in saving millions of lives every year. Vaccines are widely recognised globally by health experts as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective interventions for health. It is unfortunate that even with the availability of advanced and affordable vaccines there are 19.4 million children world over who remain under-vaccinated or unvaccinated. The bottom-line is - immunization matters now more than ever, and needs to be seen as a development priority in Indian healthcare. 

Indian’s vaccine market remains small and under penetrated as compared to the global peers. The Government has to realise that adding new vaccines to the National Immunization Programme results in creating immense value creation. The African nations to receive the malaria vaccine by next year are Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. With the official nod for India awaited, it is just a matter of time before India follows suit.

The World Health Organization has defined an ambitious goal to eliminate malaria by 2030. Similarly, the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Government of India had launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination in India last year. A holistic effort approach needs to be taken not just by government officials, but medical practitioners and citizens also to eradicate this disease, especially after the vaccine is introduced in India.

Here is the 5-point agenda to scale up immunisation programmes in India to the next level of success:

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Dr Dharminder Nagar is the managing director of Paras Healthcare