NEW DELHI: Malaria-related deaths dipped slightly in 2021 after an increase in the first year of Covid-19, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday. However, in its World Malaria Report 2022, the WHO said the deaths remained higher than the pre-pandemic estimated toll.
The report said in 2021, the South-East Asia Region had nine malaria-endemic countries that contributed to about 2% of the burden of malaria globally. Most cases in the region were concentrated in India (79%).
The report said that Insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) are the primary vector control tool used in most malaria-endemic countries, but seven countries did not distribute any. India figured in this list along with Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Chad and Haiti.
Eight countries, including Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand and Uganda, contributed less than 60 per cent, the
report highlighted. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an increase of approximately 4 lakh cases in the South-East Asia Region; over half of these cases were reported in Myanmar.
Case increases were also seen in Bangladesh, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India and Indonesia, the report added. Last year, there were 247 million malaria cases compared to 245 million patients in 2020, while malaria deaths stood at 6,190,00 in 2021 as compared to 6,250,00 in 2020.