Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM), chairs a meeting to assess progress towards malaria elimination in India by 2030, focusing on high-burden districts.
On August 28, 2026, Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM), chaired a high-level meeting to review efforts towards malaria elimination in India by 2030. The meeting was attended by senior officers from the Ministry, National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC), Mission Directors of National Health Missions, and District Collectors of concerned States and districts.
India has made significant progress in reducing malaria burden, with cases and deaths declining by nearly 80% between 2015 and 2025. The number of high-burden districts decreased from 155 to 33 during the same period, and 160 districts reported zero indigenous malaria cases during 2022–2025.
The review focused on the 33 high-burden districts across nine States and Union Territories, which accounted for 64% of malaria cases and 54% of malaria deaths in 2025. The states reviewed include Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra.
Smt. Patnaik emphasized the need for vigilance and area-specific strategies to prevent and eliminate malaria. She stressed the importance of implementing District Action Plans in all 33 high-burden districts, along with Village Action Plans in high-burden villages, based on local conditions.
Highlighting the importance of early detection and complete treatment, the meeting stressed the need to strengthen the 'Test, Treat and Track' strategy. Delays in diagnosis and treatment were identified as critical factors contributing to malaria deaths. States were advised to strengthen active surveillance and ensure uninterrupted availability of diagnostics and anti-malarial drugs, particularly in hard-to-reach and vulnerable areas.
The review also underscored the need to further strengthen surveillance systems and improve data quality. States were advised to review unusually high Annual Blood Examination Rates (ABER) to identify possible duplicate testing, repeated entries and inclusion of asymptomatic screening. It was emphasised that asymptomatic cases detected through mass screening should be reported separately and excluded from API and ABER calculations to ensure accurate assessment of the malaria situation and programme performance.
Smt. Aradhana Patnaik further stressed the importance of intersectoral convergence for achieving malaria elimination. She noted that health interventions alone cannot address several factors contributing to malaria transmission, including water-logging, source reduction and environmental management. States were therefore advised to strengthen coordination with the Departments of Rural Development and Urban Development, as well as Panchayati Raj Institutions, for effective implementation of environmental and vector-control measures.
Greater engagement of Self-Help Groups, community volunteers and Panchayati Raj representatives was also encouraged to strengthen community participation in early reporting of fever cases, identification of water-logging and other mosquito breeding sites, and implementation of source-reduction activities.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
