World Malaria Day
- April 25.
Malaria claims about
50,000 lives in India each year
As about 50,000
people in India and about one crore across the world die of mosquito-borne
diseases every year, apex industry body ASSOCHAM under the aegis of its CSR
(Corporate Social Responsibility) Foundation has planned to launch an awareness
campaign with an aim to spread information about malaria, its causes,
prevention and treatment on the eve of World Malaria Day commemorated globally
every year on April 25.
Representatives of
the CSR Foundation of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM) would be organising awareness programmes across urban slums and
other vulnerable areas in 5 metro cities of - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai
& Kolkata to educate people about water-borne diseases like malaria,
cholera, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and others that erupt every year during
summer and rainy seasons due to poor quality of drinking water supply and
sanitation.
“Malaria morbidity
and mortality is a matter of major public health concern as it hugely affects
social and economic conditions of the people and leads to poverty,” said Mr
D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM.
“Nearly 75% of
India’s water supply is seriously polluted with sewage & industrial
effluents promoting water-borne diseases which affect over 70 crore working
days,” said Mr. Rawat.
“Besides, groundwater
available in over 200 districts in India is not fit for drinking owing to
excessive concentration of fluoride, iron, salinity and arsenic which affects
about two lakh habitations as 85% of population is dependent upon groundwater,”
said Mr Rawat.
“Growing industrialization, rapid
urbanization, growth of unauthorized colonies, lack of amenities, dearth of
medical facilities, garbage disposal in the open and other related factors are
adversely affecting the safe drinking water supply across most parts of the
country.”
ASSOCHAM CSR
Foundation would increase public awareness about malaria by encouraging
community participation through mass media and interpersonal communication and
consolidate inter-sectoral collaborative efforts along with corporate and
voluntary organizations at all levels for prevention and control of malaria.
“We would be holding
community meetings to sensitize people about various measures to be taken for
malaria prevention like keeping one’s surroundings clean, using a mosquito net
while sleeping, getting blood sample tested in case of fever and others,” said
Mr Rawat.
“Apart from community
level meetings, we would also organise exhibition-cum-awareness meetings at
various schools to sensitize the students about malaria and other vector borne
diseases to encourage the students to spread the messages to their family
members and thereby help the society as a whole.”
“It is imperative to
inform people about destroying mosquito-breeding sources and insist people to
use mosquito nets,” said Mr Rawat. “A pro-active awareness campaign to
propagate the message is surely a step towards curbing the menace of malaria.”
ASSOCHAM in the past
has suggested most of the state governments to provide blood slide collection
facilities together with examination and treatment of malaria with the use of
rapid diagnostic tools and better drugs and medicines free of cost at all
health centres, more so in the high endemic areas as the rural population with
limited access to quality healthcare and basic facilities are often the worst
sufferers.
Prevention and control of malaria would be
successful only with close co-operation of government and non-governmental
organisations, health workers and through community participation.
(ASSOCHAM)
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