TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
No room for complacency in Indonesia’s battle against malaria
The country’s fight against the parasitic infection remains tough amid a lack of innovative tools and inadequate financing.
Change Size
Malaria in check: A doctor examines a child who is hospitalized with malaria. Indonesia has made significant progress in the fight against malaria and aims to eliminate the disease by 2030. (Antara/Kornelis Kaha)
I
ndonesia’s public health response to malaria has continued to improve. The incidence of the parasitic infection has continued to decline, but the illness remains one of top threats to public health in the nation. Hundreds of thousands of malaria cases and deaths are estimated to occur in the country every year.
According to Health Ministry data, malaria cases dropped by 235,700 – or about 50 percent – in 2020 from 465,700 in the previous year. And it appears the nation’s fight against malaria is on track to meet its target for the disease’s elimination by 2030.
A new report titled Malaria Elimination Amid COVID-19: A Test of Resilience in Asia Pacific brings some optimism to the malaria battle as it reveals areas of progress in the global fight against the disease. While health systems have been strained by COVID-19, many countries in the region have demonstrated remarkable collaboration and have swiftly adapted to ensure malaria services continue, the report found.
This progress includes Laos and Cambodia reporting zero indigenous malaria deaths in 2020. Malaysia, which has not had any recorded human cases of malaria for three consecutive years, has issued guidelines on the continuation of malaria intervention to maintain its “zero indigenous human malaria” status.
India, the only country under the World Health Organization’s High Burden to High Impact Initiative that registered progress against malaria, has shown its commitment to the continuity of malaria elimination projects. Sri Lanka, which remains certified malaria-free, has instigated efforts to prevent the reintroduction of malaria post-elimination.
Pakistan swiftly adapted its long-lasting insecticidal net distribution and training strategies to prevent outbreaks in high-burden tribal districts, while in Bhutan, community action groups were revitalized to ensure quality service delivery for both COVID-19 and malaria.
The report also praised Indonesia’s commitment and steady progress in fighting malaria. The country’s health officials in several high-burden provinces have mobilized regional budgets and integrated COVID-19 and malaria screening and testing procedures, said the report, which was released to coincide with the Asia Pacific Leaders Dialogue for Malaria Elimination on Dec. 13.
