Make Karnataka malaria-free by 2027: Health Minister Sudhakar to officials

Sudhakar added that hygiene is key when it comes to preventing malaria. “Initially, many made fun of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he started the Swachh Bharat Mission, but he knew that the first step in improving health is to improve hygiene. In order to prevent malaria, cleanliness is very necessary as it is a vector-borne disease that spreads through mosquitoes and unclean areas attract mosquitoes,” he stated.

The minister further highlighted that since 2014, the Modi government has constructed 12 crore toilets across India in a bid to improve hygiene in rural areas. He said that measures like the use of mosquito nets need to be implemented to prevent the disease.

Medical students, Sudhakar said, are the strength of government medical colleges and they have to conduct awareness programmes and camps in rural areas to fight the disease. He also pointed out that private doctors practising in rural areas must be involved in the endeavour.

“The Union government has a target of making India malaria-free by 2030 and already 10 districts in Karnataka have not seen even a single case of malaria in the last three years. All the credit goes to health department officials, staff and ASHA workers,” he added.

The symptoms of the disease include fever, sweating, chills, body ache, vomiting and diarrhoea. “The easiest way to detect malaria is to get a blood test and it is available at all primary health centres, government taluk hospitals and government district hospitals. Our government and officials are striving to create an Arogya Karnataka,” Sudhakar added.