Malaria is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. In India, it is an ongoing national health burden. To curb the disease, globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to introduce the first vaccine created to prevent malaria. The organisation announced the vaccine on April 24, 2017, the eve of World Malaria Day.

Globally, more than 4,29,000 people died of mosquito-borne illnesses in 2015, and millions are affected by malarial infection. This is contributing to the overall burden of healthcare in India.

From 2000 to 2015, a 62-per cent reduction in malaria deaths has been noted, according to the WHO. The implementation of the urban malaria scheme (UMS) in 1971-72 and the modified plan of operation (MPO) in 1977 had helped in improving the malaria situation considerably. However, almost 22 per cent of India’s population live in high transmission areas, and 67 per cent live in low transmission areas, shows the World Malaria Report 2014.

Eradicating malaria and other tropical diseases in endemic countries such as ours needs a paradigm transformation in the way the disease is to be dealt with. Broadening the spectrum of universal immunisation coverage will surely play a significant role in achieving this goal with a long-lasting, tangible impact for improving health outcomes in the treatment of this disease.

Gearing up for immunisation Vaccines are widely recognised globally by health experts as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective interventions for health. It is unfortunate that even with the availability of advanced and affordable vaccines, there are 19.4 million children world over who remain under-vaccinated or unvaccinated. The bottomline is — immunisation matters now more than ever, and needs to be seen as a development priority in Indian healthcare.

India’s vaccine market remains small and under penetrated. The Government has to realise that adding new vaccines to the National Immunisation Programme results in creating immense value creation. The African nations to receive the malaria vaccine by next year are Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. With the official nod for India awaited, it is just a matter of time before India follows suit.

The WHO has defined an ambitious goal to eliminate malaria by 2030. Similarly, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination last year.

Here is a five-point agenda to scale up immunisation programmes in India:

Take up value-added disease surveillance initiatives to measure and assess the current burden of the disease on communities and the process of dealing with it.

Form an evidence-based nationwide protocol for all stakeholders for doing research on new vaccines and implement them at the ground-level should be done, because in India malaria hits the poor the most.

Build a motivated workforce to promote education and communication about the new vaccine is important.

Put up an efficient logistics and distribution network for upcoming vaccines and set up safe cold stores to protect them.

Define the performance and management accountability responsibilities in a clear-cut manner, and periodic monitoring and evaluation should be done in the first five years after the introduction of the new vaccine.

The writer is the managing director of Paras Healthcare

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