In news: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared China as “malaria-free”.
It is a result of a seven decade-long, multi-pronged health strategy that was able to entirely eliminate indigenous cases for four straight years.
40 countries and territories have been granted a malaria-free certification from WHO – including, most recently, El Salvador (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018) and Uzbekistan (2018) [India is not yet Malaria free]
About Malaria
Malaria is a life threatening mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium parasites.
It is predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America as well as Asia.
The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
Symptoms: Fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness.
It is preventable as well as curable.
According to the World Malaria Report, 2020, the number of malaria cases worldwide in 2019 was around 229 million, with 4,09,000 lives lost to the mosquito-borne disease.
China’s Malaria Strategy
The efforts began in the early 1950s starting with a multi-pronged approach of providing anti-malarial medicines while targeting mosquito breeding grounds and using insecticide spraying.
The 523 Project: It led to the discovery of artemisinin in the 1970s. Artemisinin is the core compound of antimalarial drugs available today.
Insecticide-treated Nets: In the 1980s, China began using insecticide-treated nets widely, distributing 2.4 million nets by 1988.
1-3-7 Strategy: The strategy refers to:
A one-day deadline to report a malaria diagnosis,
Confirming a case and determining the spread by the third day, and
Measures taken to stop the spread by the seventh day, along with continued surveillance in high-risk areas.
Leveraging Global Fund: With assistance from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria starting in 2003, China “stepped up training, staffing, laboratory equipment, medicines and mosquito control.”
