India to eradicate malaria in short time

India’s Home Minister Amit Shah said the country has recorded a 97% reduction in malaria cases and will be free of the disease in a “short time.”

He was addressing the ‘All India Medical Conference — IMA NATCON 2025’ of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Shela in Ahmedabad.

“Thanks to various healthcare-related schemes like Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush, we have recorded 97% reduction in malaria cases, and we will be almost free from malaria in a short time. The government has reduced the dengue mortality rate to 1%. There has been a 25% reduction in maternal mortality,” he said.

“From ₹37,000 crore in 2014, the Centre’s health budget now stands at ₹1.28 lakh crore under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All these achievements happen when schemes are implemented on the ground. Work has also been done to bring about unprecedented changes in the health of citizens,” Mr. Shah added.

He told doctors that their efforts should be aligned with the infrastructure and scheme to ensure better results.

The role of doctors and the IMA has become more critical today, as the country needs a “healthy demography” to realise PM Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, Mr. Shah said.

The Union Minister said the Centre, in view of the requirement for a healthy demography, has been working to build a robust health ecosystem with a holistic approach since 2014, adding that key components of this endeavour include the Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat, Fit India Movement, and Khelo India.

“We made generic medicines affordable, reduced the cost of several medicines by removing GST, and increased medical seats. We are expanding the reach of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences). In the coming days, we will be launching a programme through AIIMS to guide PHCs and CHCs via telemedicine and videography,” he informed.

As IMA celebrates its 100th anniversary, Mr. Shah urged its leadership to rethink the scope of its contribution.