India Reports 75% Reduction in Malaria Cases, Eyes WHO Elimination Certification
The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme's data shows India achieved 1.8 million cases in 2025, down from 7.5 million a decade ago, with six states now reporting zero indigenous transmission.
India has reported a 75 per cent reduction in malaria cases over the past decade, with the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme recording 1.83 million confirmed cases in 2025 compared to 7.5 million in 2015 — a public health achievement that places India on track to apply for World Health Organization malaria elimination certification by 2030.
Six states — Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Goa — have now recorded zero indigenous malaria transmission for more than 36 consecutive months, meeting the WHO's primary criterion for sub-national elimination status.
The reduction has been driven by a combination of interventions: universal distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets in tribal and remote areas, indoor residual spraying programmes, the introduction of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in high-burden districts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and rapid diagnostic test deployment that enables treatment within 24 hours of symptom onset.
Odisha alone accounted for approximately 28 per cent of India's total malaria burden in 2015 and remains the focus of intensified control efforts. The state has recorded a 62 per cent case reduction and is investing in integrated surveillance platforms that combine satellite land use data with mosquito population monitoring.
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