Not a single case of death due to malaria has been reported in the lanjigarh block of Kalahnadi district in the past two years. Moreover, the cases of pediatric malaria have gone down by around 50 per cent over the past few years due to the joint efforts of district medical unit and hospital set up by Vedanta Aluminium ltd, informed company’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sabita Swain.
According to Swain the medical unit from Vedanta Aluminum and the district medical team has been working relentlessly on spreading awareness about the ill-effects of mosquito biting and the benefits of keeping their surroundings clean. This has resulted in a sharp drop in cases of malaria amidst children and pregnant women.
“Zero malaria death in the block is a great achievement. The awareness programmes taken up jointly by the health department and Vedanta Aluminium have been able to deliver good results,” said lanjigarh block medical officer Dr Swapna Sarit.
The malaria awareness campaign launched by Vedanta Aluminium has played a vital role in achieving the feat in the block, and it is well supported by the Vedanta Hospital at lanjigarh.