In the last Mann Ki Baat of the year this Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to two odd communities for malaria eradication in their areas. One was tea dwellers of Jorhat in Assam and other the people of Kurukshetra in Haryana.

Though a household name, often taken lightly, the world’s oldest scourge remains the top killer of humanity, especially the children. Four out of five dying malaria are children under five. Scientist are almost close to finding a vaccine. But till that time it continues to take its toll globally. Every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria. And each year, more than 200 million new cases of the disease are reported.

However, the war against malaria in India by the health agencies and the Government is no less formidable.  And India’s journey toward a malaria-free future is a story of remarkable transformation and progress.

At the time of independence in 1947, malaria was one of the most pressing public health challenges, with an estimated 7.5 crore cases annually and 800,000 deaths. Over the decades, relentless efforts have drastically reduced these numbers by over 97%, with cases declining to just 2 million and deaths plummeting to just 83 by 2023. This historic achievement underscores India’s commitment to eliminating Malaria and improving public health for its citizens.

Not just that. In 122 districts across various states , zero malaria cases  have been reported. And Modi has a reason to celebrate. India exits from the WHO’s High Burden to High Impact group in this year, signifying a turning point in its fight against Malaria. But Modi’s message also has a cautionary message: the fight could not have succeeded without spreading awareness in public how Malaria spreads and there could be no let up.

Underscoring that this success has been achieved through everyone’s participation, Prime Minister credited everyone from every corner of India for becoming a part of this campaign. He especially mentioned the contribution of tea garden dwellers of Jorhat in Assam and people of the Kurukshetra district of Haryana for taking the war against Malaria more rapidly.

“In the tea gardens of Jorhat in Assam, malaria used to be a major cause of concern for people until four years ago. But when the tea garden dwellers united to eradicate it, they started getting success to a great extent. In this effort, they have made full use of technology as well as social media,” he said.

“Similarly, Kurukshetra district of Haryana has presented a very good model for controlling malaria. Here, public participation for monitoring Malaria has been quite successful. Through street plays and radio, emphasis was laid on messages which helped a lot in reducing the breeding of mosquitoes”, he added..

The latest World Malaria Report 2024, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), celebrates India’s significant progress. India’s achievements include a significant reduction in malaria cases and malaria-related deaths between 2017 and 2023.

This success is further highlighted by India’s exit from the WHO’s High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) group in 2024, signifying a turning point in its fight against malaria. These achievements reflect the nation’s robust public health interventions and its vision to achieve malaria-free status by 2030.

India’s epidemiological progress is particularly evident in the movement of states to lower disease burden categories. From 2015 to 2023, numerous states have transitioned from the higher-burden category to the significantly lower or zero-burden category.

In 2015, 10 States and Union Territories were classified as high burden (Category 3), of these, in 2023 only two states (Mizoram & Tripura) remain in Category 3, whereas 4 states such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya, have reduced the case-load and moved to Category 2. Also, the other 4 States, namely, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have significantly reduced the caseload and moved to Category 1 in 2023.

In 2015 only 15 states were in Category 1, whereas in 2023, 24 states and UTs (progressed from high/medium-burden categories to Category 1, reporting an API of less than 1 case per 1000 population). As of 2023 Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry are in Category 0 i.e. zero indigenous Malaria cases. These areas are now eligible for subnational verification of malaria elimination. Additionally, in 2023, 122 districts across various states reported zero malaria cases, which demonstrates the efficacy of targeted interventions.

Both, Malaria cases and deaths have dropped by around 80% from 2015-2023, with cases going down from 11,69,261 in 2015 to 2,27,564 in 2023, while deaths falling from 384 to just 83. This dramatic decline reflects the relentless efforts to combat the disease. Simultaneously, intensified surveillance efforts have led to a significant rise in the Annual Blood Examination Rate (ABER), increasing from 9.58 (2015) to 11.62 (2023). This strengthened surveillance has ensured early detection, timely intervention, and more effective treatment.