Reckitt’s household insecticide brand, Mortein on Tuesday launched ‘Mission Zero Malaria’ with support from the government of Uttar Pradesh in Bareilly. Aligned with India’s goal to eliminate Malaria by 2030, Mission Zero Malaria has been launched with Malaria No More, as an implementation partner and aims to enhance health awareness and inspire the adoption of desired behavior change within the community, health system, and government bodies of the region.
Speaking on the partnership, Pratik Kumar, country director, Malaria No More, India, said “Through the partnership, we aim to create awareness about the disease, encourage preventive action, and improve treatment seeking and treatment compliance measures for Malaria and Dengue in the state of UP – Bareilly in particular. Together, Reckitt and Malaria No More hope to make a significant impact in reducing the burden of mosquito-borne diseases in India.”
As per the World Health Organisation, in the south-east Asia region, India accounts for 82.5 percent of malaria cases which is the majority of the malaria burden. In 2019, 70 percent of the officially reported cases of malaria in Uttar Pradesh came from only two districts, Bareilly and Budaun. Bareilly witnessed sudden and unexplained outbreaks of malaria and dengue in recent times.
Due to the consistent rise in Malaria cases in the district of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh government took various steps to mitigate the risk and help those suffering from vector-borne diseases. However, the public and private sectors complement each other and help strengthen the system. Mortein and Malaria No More will play a role in healthcare delivery to the targeted beneficiaries to control and eradicate Malaria in Bareilly. The partnership will ensure investments, access to technology, and innovation that can be leveraged to lessen the burden of Malaria in the district.
Commenting on Mortein’s initiatives, Saurabh Jain, regional marketing director, hygiene, Reckitt- south Asia said, “Mortein is consistently working towards serving consumer needs by offering innovative solutions to everyone. Driving sustained behavior change is essential to drive impact and thus, with Mission Zero Malaria our efforts are aligned with the philosophy of leaving no one behind.”