The Union Health Ministry is awarding Andhra Pradesh for its efforts to make the state Malaria-free. They will be conferred with the honour today, on World Malaria Day, for bringing down the total number of cases in the state from 6040 in 2018 to 1139 in 2021.
Every year, World Malaria Day is observed to raise awareness about the deadly condition and the global efforts to fight it. Around 3.3 billion in 106 countries suffer from Malaria. Several grassroots organisations worldwide are dedicated to making people aware of the same and ensuring that the governments can implement appropriate policy changes.
According to The New Indian Express, Andhra Pradesh has been working hard for the past three years to eliminate Malaria from the state. The news publication quoted the state health department that laid down the necessary measures and numbers involved in the process. In the identified high-risk zones, 21.50 mosquito nets were distributed, whereas the state got around 25.94 lakh nets in 2021. Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) was done in 3027 villages in Andhra Pradesh, including the high-risk areas. Not only that, the district-level officers were given the responsibility of overseeing the work done.
Initiatives By AP Govt
For several years now, the Andhra Pradesh government has been running an 'Weekly Dry Day' initiative on Friday of each week. Here, the term 'dry day' is not associated with alcohol prohibition but with curbing the Malaria spread. Spearheaded by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), it raises awareness about the weekly cleaning of water storage facilities such as overhead tanks, flower pots, refrigerators, etc. The necessary information was also imparted with a mobile application for better accessibility.
Under the programme, the state's fisheries department provided 24 lakhs of Gambusia fish to fight the disease. Also known as 'mosquito fish', they are bred in ponds and other small water bodies; they can feed on mosquito larvae that curb the spread of Malaria and Dengue in the area. Because of these measures, Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a considerable decline in Malaria cases. 2022 has seen only 117 cases so far.
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