Jharkhand Fights Malaria: Panchayat Leaders Honored for Disease Control Efforts

Ranchi: The health department on Saturday felicitated 10 panchayat representatives, mainly mukhiyas from different districts, for their contributions in controlling malaria and filaria cases through awareness campaigns and community participation.

Addressing the World Malaria Day event, National Health Mission (NHM), Jharkhand director, Shashi Prakash Jha said, “The govt is serious about protecting people’s health. With regular spraying, use of mosquito nets, clean drains and active public participation, malaria can also be controlled effectively.”

He added that awareness at panchayat level through mukhiyas was essential. “People must understand prevention, early detection and timely treatment are crucial. Community participation is the strongest weapon against communicable diseases,” he said.

Jharkhand reported 42,236 malaria cases in 2025, with the majority of them in districts such as West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Godda, Pakur and Sahibganj.

In the first three months of this year, around 4,000 malaria cases have been recorded in the state, underlining the need for stronger village-level prevention and early detection measures. A total of 14.69 lakh rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and over 55 lakh slide-based malaria tests were conducted across the state.

State programme officer for vector-borne diseases, Birendra Kumar Singh, said reducing malaria cases and making Jharkhand free from kala-azar remainsa priority.

“Our effort is to bring down malaria cases and ensure elimination of kala-azar. Malaria needs to be highlighted more seriously, and prevention is equally important. In just three months, around 4,000 malaria cases are reported across the state. This shows why villages must take ownership of sanitation, mosquito control and awareness drives,” Singh said.

Officials said eight districts — Bokaro, Chatra, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Koderma, Palamu, Ramgarh and Jamtara — recorded fewer than 100 malaria cases last year, reflecting improvement in efforts to reduce cases.

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