BHUBANESWAR: Malaria cases almost doubled in the state in one month as the government remained indecisive about distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) procured with funds from the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) in the high burden districts.
The state reported the highest malaria cases in the country with 32,676 cases and four deaths till July. Around 18,383 cases were recorded till June. Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj and Boudh have emerged as high caseload districts with 6,088, 5,862, 5,500, 4,962, 2,658, 1,466 and 1,148 cases respectively.
The LLINs had played an important role in the remarkable reduction of around 80 per cent malaria burden in Odisha a few years back.
Sources said the Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL) had procured around 55 lakh LLINs at around Rs 129 crore last month from the OMBADC funds earmarked for health infrastructure improvement in mineral-bearing districts. The state had to procure on its own due to delay in supply of nets from the Centre.
Since the nets were ideally to be distributed in Sundargarh, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda and Deogarh districts which are covered by OMBADC, the officials were in a dilemma over the distribution of LLINs in other districts. Barring Mayurbhanj, six other districts which have been fuelling the malaria tally this season do not come under OMBADC.
The rise in the vector-borne disease has now forced the state government to divert the LLINs to the high burden districts for the time-being to tide over the crisis. Director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra has asked the OSMCL to release 40.6 lakh nets from the state warehouse to seven districts, including six high burden districts and Gajapati.The rest 14.4 lakh nets would be distributed in Sundargarh district.
Collectors of these districts have been directed to prepare village, sub-centre and CHC wise line listings at the district level for fast and transparent distribution in order to curb the rising cases.
Sources said the delay in decision-making had turned out to be a stumbling block in distribution of the LLINs, which could have been supplied to the endemic districts last month. Last year too, malaria cases in the state doubled from 2022 as nets could not be supplied by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Admitting that an inclusive approach is necessary to control the malaria outbreak effectively, a health official said the OMBADC allowed the use of the nets in outside districts on the condition that the state would return the same number when central supply is available. “Of the previous indent of 1.56 crore, the Centre has intimated to us that 23 lakh nets have been dispatched. The rest would be supplied in phases. So, we may have to divert only 17 lakh OMBADC nets now,” he said.