The malaria elimination program that witnessed much progress in the early 2010s has slowed down in recent years.
On the occasion of World Malaria Day on Monday, experts attributed the stagnation to authorities still following the same measures formulated a decade ago. They said the current program needs to be updated as soon as possible to fully eradicate the mosquito-borne disease from the country.
Meanwhile, government officials said taking initiatives to decrease the infection number is much easier than eradication and it might take years to achieve the final goal.
The number of cases has been declining for the past few years. In 2020, 7,294 malaria cases were reported while 6,130 cases were logged in 2021. This year, some 601 cases have been reported till now.
According to the malaria program office under the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS), seven people died in 2018 and nine each in 2019, 2020, and 2021. This year, only one person has died so far.
From 2007 onwards, Bangladesh has vastly expanded health services for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas.
According to national surveillance data, the malaria incidence decreased from 84,690 cases in 2008 to 26,891 cases in 2013, having a 68.2% reduction in case incidence.
The malaria control program, which has now become the malaria elimination program, still follows the same strategy adopted in 2015, said infectious disease expert Prof Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of disease control at DGHS.
He said that Sri Lanka and the Maldives have already eradicated malaria by employing a strong group of entomologists.
Dhaka Tribune could not confirm how many entomologists are working for DGHS. But a source said that till 2020, no entomologists worked at city corporations and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). DGHS has over 20 entomologists who mostly got promoted from technician posts.
The scenario rarely has changed since then, the sources added.
Worry over CHT
Dr Md Ekramul Haque, deputy program manager (DPM) of the malaria elimination program under DGHS, said that the program was well on its target and they were working to eradicate malaria.
As per data, 72 upazilas under 13 districts were marked risky. Of them, around 30 upazilas reported zero cases in the last three years, he said, adding that they are now concerned about the three hill tract districts – Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari.
Bandarban has the highest annual parasite incidence, or API, of six right now while Rangamati has an API of 1.6, he said.
He said the authorities plan to bring API below one in these three districts and eradicate malaria completely from the country by 2030.
Dr Haque said the authorities are going to introduce a crash program in the areas to raise awareness.
He also informed that they are conducting a study in Thanchi and Ali Kadam area to see if the medicine spray for destroying adult mosquitoes has proper efficacy. “We want to make our program advance to achieve the goal.”
