New malaria cases down a third: JP Nadda

NEW DELHI: Health minister JP Nadda asserted that the country has reduced its new malaria cases by one-third, and crossed the malaria mortality reduction targets which were to be achieved by 2020.

Addressing a roundtable on ‘Accelerating the elimination of malaria in the South-East Asia Region’, Nadda said here that with nearly three-fourth of the share of the regional burden, India’s “successes” have significantly contributed to the reduction of malaria cases in the entire SE Asia region. He said the success to combat malaria comes against the backdrop of the political leadership's commitment to health programmes in India.

“The commitment to ensure health for every person in India comes from the highest office of the government. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to see health and development reach the furthest corners of our country, and use the very latest innovations in technology and science to achieve these outcomes,” Nadda said.

The WHO report said that India accounted for 6 percent of the 216 million new cases globally.