World Malaria Day | How India’s Preparedness for Malaria is Helping Countries Fight COVID-19

World Malaria Day
The theme of World Malaria Day 2020 is Zero Malaria Starts with Me.
World Malaria Day
The theme of World Malaria Day 2020 is Zero Malaria Starts with Me.

As the novel coronavirus cases have been increasing rapidly around the globe, the time demands to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak at the earliest. But other killer health menaces like malaria cannot be neglected. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the malaria community should remain committed to preventing the malaria infection.

Zero Malaria Starts with Me, 2020 theme

World Malaria Day is observed annually on April 25 worldwide to create awareness and raise funds for the cure of this disease. ‘Zero Malaria Starts with Me’ is the theme of 2020, which is a grassroots level campaign to keep malaria on the political agenda and bring additional sources in the prevention and cure of malaria.

Death rates dip

There was a time when malaria was considered one of the deadliest diseases worldwide.  But the collective effort by the world leadership has helped in reducing the death rate of malaria. The number of malaria-related deaths has dipped by 40 per cent from 2000 to 2014 across the world, from an estimated 743,000 to 446,000. But in recent years, the statistics of the success rate in the prevention of malaria is stationary. As per the WHO’s 2019 report,  there is no success from 2014 to 2018 in the decrease in the number of infections. This is alarming as the entire world is united to bring the malaria-related death rate to zero.

Symptoms of malaria

The first symptoms of malaria generally appear after about two weeks of the mosquito bite. The common symptoms of this disease are – fever, headache, and chills. In this case, sometimes it turns deadly, and the chance of multi-organ failure cannot be overruled for adults. Children suffering from malaria may develop anaemia.

Malaria, a curable disease

Malaria is still a life-threatening disease. This disease takes place due to bites of Anopheles mosquitoes. But it is preventable and curable. Hydroxychloroquine is now a world fame medicine. This drug is used in the treatment of malaria and kills those organisms that cause this disease. This magic drug is also helpful in the cure of arthritis.

Trump wants Hydroxychloroquine

Currently, Hydroxychloroquine is being used by many countries, including the US in the treatment of COVID-19. US President Trump telephoned his Indian counterpart Modi for the supply of this medicine. Many countries are eying India to procure this drug. But the clinical trial report of this drug is limited. The million-dollar question is that will this drug be successful in the containment of novel coronavirus. It is difficult to say at this juncture. But India has proven that the country is full of magical drugs.

The Sub-Saharan Africa region sees huge casualties due to malaria, Western Pacific, America, and the Eastern Mediterranean also gets hugely affected by the disease. The death rate is still very high globally due to malaria.

Related Link:

Is Hydroxychloroquine a Game-changer for COVID-19 Treatment?