Indian political leadership and industry should "involve and invest more" in the fight against Malaria, "a silent killer", which is mostly confined to the country's tribal and backward areas, a UN body said today.
According to a data shared with media ahead of 'World Malaria Day' on April 25, the biggest brunt of the disease is borne by most backward, poor and remote part of the country where more than 90 to 95 per cent of cases are reported.
Odisha has less than four per cent of India's population but it accounts for 25 per cent of Malaria cases and also 20 to 30 per cent of all deaths in India.
The other states hit by the vector-borne disease are Chattisgarh, West Bengal, northeastern states, parts of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
"With 95 per cent of India's population living in malaria-endemic areas and an estimated one million cases reported by the government each year, malaria continues to take a significant economic toll on the country," Herve Verhoosel, a Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) representative at UN, said here today.
Noting that involvement of big companies in the fight against the disease was "lower", he said that they must take it up as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility.
He said the role of political "leadership was something very important" in the fight against Malaria.
Verhoosel said in India after the elections, whoever forms the government must invest in health and invest for malaria eradication.
"Malaria is a silent killer. A lot of people are sick of the disease. We don't speak about it. That's why it is a silent killer," Verhoosel said.
He was speaking to reporters ahead of an event jointly organised here by RBM, Asia-Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance and the Epower School of Health to celebrate the success against the disease in recent years.
Terming that Malaria was entirely preventable and treatable, Dean and Director of the Empower School of Health, Paul Lalvani said one rupee invested in the national malaria control programme would give a return of almost Rs 20.
