Tata Steel Foundation Organises Awareness Session On ‘World Malaria Day’

Kalinganagar: Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) commemorated World Malaria Day, 2023, by organising an awareness session in collaboration with District Health Authorities and National Vector Borne Disease (VBD) Control Programme at Salijanga Panchayat Office under Danagadi block of Jajpur district on Tuesday.

Apart from the awareness session intended to raise awareness among the community, 13000 mosquito nets were distributed to all the residents of the panchayat. The initiative is in consistence with the Foundation’s overall strategy to enhance public health.

Dr Sibashis Moharana, Chief District Medical & Public Health Officer, Jajpur graced the occasion as chief guest along with Dr Pradipta Kumar Sahoo, Additional District Public Health Officer (ADPHO), VBD, Jajpur, Mr Sunil Kumar Mahato, Consultant, Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ms Bijaylaxmi Dash, Sarpanch, Salijanga Panchayat, Dr Neelima Tirkey, Lead, Public Health Odisha, TSF, Mr Akshya Ku Nayak, Manager, Community Health Initiatives, TSF and other senior officials of District Health Department and Tata Steel Foundation.

The theme of the event – Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement – is part of Tata Steel Foundation’s commitment to creating healthy communities and address the issue of several mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, etc., which continue to be a significant public health issue and a cause for deaths and disease in the communities.

Resonating his thoughts on the initiative, Dr Anuj Bhatnagar, Head, Public Health at Tata Steel Foundation said, “Tata Steel Foundation, as part of its commitment to create healthy communities, has undertaken to address the issue of several mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, filariasis, Japanese Encephalitis etc which continue to be a major public health issue and a cause for deaths and disease in the communities. As part of its program, TSF has distributed 67,973 mosquito nets across 8 blocks in Jharkhand and Odisha to prevent mosquito-borne diseases, in collaboration with various district health authorities. Communities have also been trained in the proper use and maintenance of mosquito nets. Distribution of mosquito nets on World Malaria Day and raising awareness about these diseases as one of the interventions aims to reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases in several parts of Jharkhand and Odisha, especially in tribal and remote communities which continue to suffer from these diseases, with focus on complete prevention of the diseases.”

The disease is mainly concentrated in the tribal and remote areas of the country. Vulnerable groups like pregnant women and extreme age group individuals are at the greatest risk of mortality from malaria. One of the strategies under the Vector-Borne Disease (VBD) Control Program of Tata Steel Foundation is to reduce human-mosquito contact. The use of bed nets is an established method to protect humans from mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases.Tata Steel Foundation