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Gadchiroli doctor couple gets prestigious award for work on cerebral malaria

Dr Baral honoured for health system strengthening in Nepal.

4 min readPuneUpdated: Feb 24, 2026 08:44 AM IST

The awards were conferred during LEPRA Society’s 37th Foundation Day celebrations. (Express Photo)

Dr Digant Amte and Dr Anagha Amte were awarded the prestigious Dr K V Desikan Memorial Award 2026 for their transformative work in drastically reducing the incidence of cerebral malaria within Gadchiroli’s tribal communities on Monday.

The award was also presented to Dr Suwash Baral for his work on leprosy diagnosis and health system strengthening in Nepal. Dr Baral eliminated critical diagnostic delays by establishing indigenous histopathology services, reducing wait times from four months to just four weeks. His resilience was notably demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic, where he used personal resources to maintain an in-house laboratory, ensuring uninterrupted care for thousands. His dedication towards zero transmission has made early diagnosis of leprosy accessible even in the most remote regions.

Dr Baral’s dedication towards zero transmission has made early diagnosis of leprosy accessible even in the most remote regions. (Express Photo)

The awards were conferred during LEPRA Society’s 37th Foundation Day celebrations.

Dr Anagha Amte never really considered doing full-time nonprofit work in a remote, tribal region like Gadchiroli, but during her postgraduate studies she was profoundly moved by hardships faced by women, especially those in labour who had to manage with scarce facilities and limited time and attention available for their care. Today, the go-to person for tribal women during their pregnancies, Dr Anagha along with her husband Dr Digant Amte, manage the responsibility of the Lok Biradari hospital and serve the tribal population just like Magsaysay Award winning doctors and her father and mother-in-law, doctors Prakash and Mandakini Amte.

At Hemalkasa, a remote village in Bhamragad tehsil of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, the Lok Biradari Hospital has been serving tribals since 1973. At the time, a major issue was observed that patients could not reach a hospital on time due to various reasons like poor condition of roads, non-availability of local transport system, heavy rains and other problems.

Some of these patients had to travel up to 25 km and it was not convenient to travel for problems like cold, cough, fever and diarrhoea. “We thought, if these villages had a medical centre nearby, that will not only save money and time of patients but they can also get treatment at their doorstep,” doctors Anagha and Digant Amte said.

They initiated a Community Health Programme in 2015. Till date, six health centres have been set up which cover 26 villages. On average, one health centre serves about 1,000 patients a year. Select community health workers have been trained at the hospital.

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Results of a lasting fight against malaria

The Amtes’ journey was also defined by a relentless fight against malaria. Beginning with the Ashram Shala, where dozens of children fell ill daily during monsoons, they introduced simple yet effective interventions —vector control through septic tank netting and weekly chloroquine prophylaxis — that reduced malaria cases to nearly zero.

Building on this success, they expanded the programme to surrounding villages, drastically lowering malaria incidence and deaths. “Our community health workers now diagnose and treat malaria and other ailments in remote villages cut off during monsoons, ensuring timely care at the doorstep,” Dr Anagha Amte told The Indian Express, adding that this proactive strategy culminated in zero deaths caused by cerebral malaria in 2023 and 2024 across the community the couple served.

Instituted in 2023 by LEPRA Society, the Dr K V Desikan Memorial Award honours individuals and organisations demonstrating exceptional leadership and contributions in infectious diseases, community health, rehabilitation, and laboratory sciences.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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