PM Modi highlights achievements in fight against Malaria & Cancer during 117th ‘Mann ki Baat’

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted achievements made in the fight against Malaria and Cancer in his 117th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on December 29, 2024. He remarked that these two achievements are attracting the attention of the world.

Prime Minister stated, “Malaria has been a big challenge confronting humanity for four thousand years. Even at the time of Independence, it was one of our biggest health challenges. Malaria ranks third among all infectious diseases that kill children between one month and five years of age. Today, I can say with satisfaction that the countrymen have collectively, strongly fought this challenge.” He highlighted the report of the World Health Organization – WHO which mentions, “In India, there has been an 80 percent reduction in the number of malaria cases and deaths due to it between 2015 & 2023.”

Underscoring that this success has been achieved through everyone’s participation, Prime Minister credited everyone from every corner of India for becoming a part of this campaign. He especially mentioned the contribution of tea garden dwellers of Jorhat in Assam and people of the Kurukshetra district of Haryana for taking the war against Malaria more rapidly. He said, “In the tea gardens of Jorhat in Assam, malaria used to be a major cause of concern for people until four years ago. But when the tea garden dwellers united to eradicate it, they started getting success to a great extent. In this effort, they have made full use of technology as well as social media”. “Similarly, Kurukshetra district of Haryana has presented a very good model for controlling malaria. Here, public participation for monitoring Malaria has been quite successful. Through street plays and radio, emphasis was laid on messages which helped a lot in reducing the breeding of mosquitoes”, he further stated.

On the fight against cancer, Prime Minister commented about a study of the world-renowned Medical Journal Lancet which stated that the chances of starting cancer treatment on time in India have increased a lot.

Prime Minister emphasized the role of Ayushman Bharat Yojana in ensuring timely treatment of cancer patients within 30 days. He stated, “Because of this scheme, 90 percent of cancer patients have been able to start their treatment on time. This has happened because earlier, due to lack of money, poor patients used to shy away from getting tested for cancer and its treatment. Now, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana has become a big support for them. Now they are coming forward to get themselves treated”. “The Ayushman Bharat Yojana has reduced the financial problems in cancer treatment to a great extent”, he stated.