Last week officials of the Goa government claimed that the state was in the ‘final elimination phase’ and had set itself a target of achieving malaria free status by the year 2027.
It’s an ambitious target, but one which the state health department claims it is confident that it will achieve. This confidence is based on the fact that no indigenous malaria cases have been reported in Goa in recent years and that since 2018, the State has recorded zero malaria deaths and all current cases are limited to migrant workers, mainly in the construction sector. Further, since 2022 Goa’s malaria incidence rate has been zero per thousand population. Based on this, the Goa government has applied to the centre to be certified as a malaria-free state for which the process is expected to take at least a year to complete.
While the pursuit is a noble cause and is laudable, officials themselves will admit that challenges remain. Migration into Goa especially by fishworkers towards the start of the fishing season is a major area of concern as is the migration of labourers for the construction sector. In fact, if the malaria target ever needed an example of what could go wrong all they need to do is watch closely the trajectory that Goa’s designation as a rabies controlled area has taken.
Goa was declared a rabies-controlled area back in 2021 becoming India’s first state with zero human rabies deaths since 2018. This status, maintained through intense vaccination and surveillance by Mission Rabies, mandates that all dogs must be vaccinated against rabies annually.
The ultimate aim was to declare Goa as a rabies-free state within a few years of being declared a rabies-controlled state. However, rather than making progress on that front, thanks in part to the fact that stray dogs cross borders especially along border villages, Goa continued to witness cases of dogs being detected with rabies. Progress has been slow since then and Goa is yet to be declared a rabies free state. The mission, however, continues.
Then there’s the example of the cholera outbreak among fishworkers that was detected at the Cutbona jetty. Goa has had very few, if any cases of cholera among the local population. However, not only did Goa witness a cholera outbreak, but also deaths compounded by the fact that fishworkers work in pitiable conditions, sometimes with no access to clean drinking water and urgent medical attention until it is too late.
In order to be declared as malaria free, Goa will have to keep its eye on the ball not just when aiming to achieve the certification but well beyond. Besides, it's not malaria alone that needs to be watched. There’s the threat of dengue, chikungunya and scores of other vector-borne diseases that show their ugly faces during the monsoon months afflicting mainly the poor, but the rich aren’t spared either.
Being malaria free isn’t the same as being open defecation free or where once the certification is obtained, it remains for life or being certified 'har ghar nal se jal' where the government can rest on its laurels even though the ground can shift under its feet.
Slacking on the malaria front will mean years of progress undone is a single fell swoop. The doctors of the Health Department already know this, it’s now our collective responsibility to ensure that as a state we do not go easy when the finish line is in sight.
