Last year, we prefaced our coverage of World Malaria Day with the note that “the era of COVID-19 masks the manifold health issues the world – India included – is grappling with. Malaria is among those issues – and with March 25th marking World Malaria Day, it is important to pay attention to the disease […]
Malaria
Infectious disease
India faces the challenge of a range of infectious diseases. While deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent, huge numbers of Indians continue to die annually due to infectious disease. This dual burden of disease has the potential to put a substantial amount of stress on an already underfunded and under resourced health […]
Malaria management technology helps Mangaluru to continue decreasing case numbers
Malaria cases in Mangaluru have continued to decline thanks to malaria control system (MCS) technology that has helped to aid efforts, alongside active source reduction exercises taken in recent years against the spread of vector-borne disease. Mangaluru, a coastal city known for having endemic malaria issues for three decades, has seen malaria incidence significantly reduced […]
Interview: Urban Weber of the Global Fund on COVID and the Big Three
The response to the ‘Big Three’ – HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts have warned that a surge in deaths due to the ‘Big Three’ could ensue, as the pandemic hits access to vital medicines and other treatments and disrupts much-needed prevention campaigns. To discuss the effect of […]
Why we need to fix the healthcare system: An interview with Dr Mikashmi Kohli
“There is a need for proper planning and strengthening the healthcare system where both the pandemic and these other treatable diseases can be managed simultaneously,” Dr Mikashmi Kohli told me recently. “We now have diagnostic tools which are multi-disease platforms so focusing just on COVID-19 , while forgetting about patients suffering from these manageable diseases, […]
HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria: A surge in deaths?
It is not news that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to public health – and as managing the pandemic ostensibly takes top priority for health systems worldwide, the ramifications for management of other diseases is a real concern. This concern has been raised in a modelling study released by The Lancet Global Health […]
World Malaria Day in the time of COVID
The era of COVID-19 masks the manifold health issues the world – India included – is grappling with. Malaria is among those issues – and with March 25th marking World Malaria Day, it is important to pay attention to the disease and afford it the gravity it warrants as a threat to public health. As […]
Triple malaria therapies: the answer to resistance?
Against a backdrop of rising rates of antimicrobial resistance the world over, a new means of treatment able for immediate use has shown success. The first clinical trial of two triple artemisinin-based combination therapies (TACTs) for malaria has found the combinations to be both highly effective and well-tolerated. The study, published in The Lancet, […]
Towards a malaria-free India: Parliamentarians forge strategic alliance to wipe out deadly disease
New Delhi, January 29th, 2020: Parliamentarians from across party lines have joined hands and formed a coalition to support India’s efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030. The group called “Parliamentarians for Malaria Elimination” includes eleven Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to different states, including many with a high malaria burden. More MPs are expected to join […]
Fewer malaria-endemic districts in India
There are substantially fewer malaria-endemic districts in India, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey informed lawmakers last week. In 2016, the Government identified 132 malaria-endemic districts in the country. In 2018, this number had been reduced to 63. 429,928 malaria cases were recorded in the country last year, the Minister informed MPs in a […]