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Emphasising India’s commitment to achieving the sustainable development goal of malaria elimination by 2030, Aradhana Patnaik, additional secretary and mission director, National Health Mission (NHM), ministry of health and family welfare, chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officers of 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 the burden of malaria through sustained and focused public health interventions. Between 2015 and 2025, malaria cases and deaths in the country declined by nearly 80%, while the number of high-burden districts decreased from 155 to 33. As many as 160 districts reported zero indigenous malaria cases during 2022–2025, reflecting sustained interruption of local transmission and the success of focused malaria control and elimination interventions.
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 reported in 2025. Detailed State-wise reviews were undertaken for Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
Smt. Aradhana Patnaik emphasised the need to maintain a high level of vigilance and adopt focused, area-specific strategies to effectively prevent and eliminate malaria. She stressed the importance of effective implementation of District Action Plans in all 33 high-burden districts, along with Village Action Plans in high-burden villages, to ensure targeted interventions based on local epidemiological and geographical 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 meeting was attended by Prabhakar, joint secretary, ministry of health and family welfare; Nikhil Gajraj, joint secretary (VBD), ministry of health and family welfare; Dr. Tanu Jain, director, NCVBDC; mission directors of NHM; state programme officers of the concerned states; district collectors; chief medical officers and district malaria officers of the concerned districts.
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