This should caution us about being unduly optimistic about consolidating malaria eradication in selected countries without containing malaria in the region as a whole. As pointed out by Fernando and Warusavithana in ‘100 Years of Malaria Control Efforts in Sri Lanka, 1911 to 2011’, the story of malaria control in Sri Lanka has been characterised by periods of spectacular advances and, equally, setbacks. At that time the health authorities in Sri Lanka were optimistic about achieving malaria eradication in the near future. Even though successful malaria containment in Sri Lanka was achieved prior to the last phase of the war, it is significant that Sri Lanka achieved malaria-free status in the aftermath of the war when the dust had settled and the resettlement of war-displaced population had been largely accomplished. Kalinga Tudor Silva is a social scientist who has authored an account on the social history of malaria in Sri Lanka.

Source: The Hindu December 03, 2016 18:33 UTC