Can Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' mission control malaria? Experts' say

Panaji, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Swachh Bharat" mission could help bring down malaria incidence in the country, according to top experts in the field of vector borne diseases.

"The campaign will definitely help bring down the rate of malaria in India further," Shiv Lal, president of the Indian Society of Malaria and Other Communicable Diseases, told a press conference here.

The nationwide "Swachh Bharat" campaign was launched amid great hype by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Oct 2 and if implemented well, is expected to serve a blow to malaria, because stagnant pools, unhygienic places are often prime breeding ground for mosquito larvae.

The society along with the Indian Association of Epidemiologists is hosting a two-day conference on reversing the challenge - vector borne, emerging infectious and non-communicable diseases.

Lal said malaria as a disease has been on the wane in India. "In the last one decade, from two million cases it has come down to one million," Lal said.

The World Malaria Report 2011 said that around 70 percent Indians face the risk of malarial infection.

IANS