As many as 13.1 million people are currently at high risk of contracting malaria in the country. Last year, the number of affected people was 25,891, while 15 died from the disease.
The statistics was revealed in the recently released annual report of Brac’s Malaria Control Programme.
According to the report, malaria contraction is largely concentrated in 13 districts in Bangladesh. Among them, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar see 80% of the reported deaths caused by malaria every year during two peak times: Before monsoon (March-May) and after monsoon (September-November).
The other endemic districts are: Chittagong, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sherpur and Kurigram.
Dr M Moktadir Kabir, programme manager of Malaria Health at Brac, said: “In order to eradicate malaria, we have to find all the malaria patients in Bangladesh.”
Compared to the capital, the number of patients is high in the endemic districts, according to Dr Kabir.
However, the number was a lot less than before, he said.
“Malaria is not only our problem, but also a problem in India. Some of the people who illegally cross borders carry malaria into our country. We need to diagnose and treat them as well,” Dr Kabir added.
As the Brac report states, despite global effort, malaria is still at large around the world and a significant threat to world population. The disease disproportionately affects poor nations, especially the rural and the socio-economically disadvantaged population. About 219 million malaria cases were diagnosed in 2010 globally, of which 6,60,000 died. Most of the children who died were under five years of age.
Dr Md Kamar Rezwan, national professional officer of Vector Borne Disease at World Health Organisation Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune that malaria patients needed early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
“We have to provide treatment to the people who live in the remote areas, and children and pregnant women should be given special care. The population of anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria is bigger in those districts. To eradicate the disease, we have to remove the mosquitoes,” he said.
Dr Mohammad Zahirul Karim, deputy programme manager of National Malaria Control Programme, said: “The government is in talks with the army about providing medical help to the remote areas in the country as voluntary work is difficult to provide in those areas. It is tough to eradicate the disease fully, but it has reduced a lot than before.”
He added: “As we share borders with Myanmar and India, the government needs to take joint initiatives with our neighbours to eradicate malaria. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult as mosquitoes travel across the borders.”
