The state government has come up with a comprehensive plan to reduce the malaria cases below four per cent within next five years. Similarly, plans were drawn up for eradicating filaria in the state as part of the programme to make India free of filaria by 2015.
The meeting of state-level task force on malaria and filaria, which was presided over by health and family welfare minister Mr Prasanna Acharya, stressed on creation of mass awareness for achieving the target regarding these diseases and proposed to rope in the women self help groups (SHGs) in the awareness campaign.
Though the state has performed well in bringing down the number of both malaria-affected cases and causalities even in comparison to national level, much is yet to be done to get rid of it, which still remains as a public health problem, the minister observed.
The involvement of the Asha workers has immensely helped the on-going malaria control programme in the state. They can now easily identify the fatal PF malaria with the help of RD kits supplied to them; however, the vivax malaria can not be identified by these kits, the minister pointed out while stressing on blood test of such suspected cases as soon as possible. The reports of the blood tests can be available within 48 hours and treatment can be started soon, he added.
The GMATF project, which was giving financial assistance for malaria control programmes in 20 districts of the state, will be over in June this year, the meeting was informed adding that alternative arrangements are being made to continue the programme in the districts.
“Mo Masari” (My Mosquito-net) scheme also forms an integral part of the malaria control programme, Mr Acharya said while adding that public-private-partnership is mooted to make it more successful.
In the first phase of the ambitious health project, the Centre has supplied 11.99 lakh medicated mosquito-nets while the state government has purchased one lakh nets from own resources. Another two lakh family nets and 1.5 lakh single nets would be purchased soon. Various corporate houses have contributed one lakh nets, while Unicef has provided with 30,000 pieces.
The Centre has promised to give another 11.48 lakh mosquito nets by March this year for 2009-10 financial year, while the state will get its share of another 12 lakh nets in 2010-11. OPGC will donate 60,000 mosquito nets.
Pregnant women, inmates of tribal hostels are given priority in distribution of these nets, which is being carried out by Gaon Kalyan Samitis.
The meeting was informed that Orissa was home to about 25 per cent of the malaria-affected patients of the country till 2000, while it accounted for 48 per cent causalities. However, while the national-level malaria-affected cases and causalities have gone up by six per cent and 26 per cent respectively by July 2009; these figures have come down by eight per cent and 15 per cent respectively in Orissa.
The task force meeting also resolved to work on filaria eradication programme to help India become a filaria-free country by 2015. The meeting stressed on mass DEC administration campaign and maintained that 90 per cent population of 20 districts have already been covered in the campaign, which kicked off in 2007.
Mr Acharya stressed on coordination of different departments especially the women and child development department, SC and ST development department, school and mass education department, water resources department, forest department, panchayati raj department, industry department, and housing and urban development department in making the programmes and campaigns more successful.