KARACHI: The Aga Khan University (AKU) marked World Malaria Day with the launch of the Thatta Malaria Elimination Plan (TMEP), a pioneering project designed to eliminate malaria from one of Pakistan’s most malaria-affected regions. In 2023 alone, Thatta reported over 10,000 cases — the highest burden in the country.
Malaria continues to be a global health crisis, with 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths reported worldwide. In the South-East Asia region, Pakistan remains a significant contributor to ongoing transmission, with 95% of the country’s population at risk. The disease not only places immense pressure on the health system but has severe repercussion on the nation’s social and economic development.
“This is not just a health issue,” said Prof M Asim Beg, Principal Investigator and TMEP Project Lead. “It’s a multidimensional challenge driven by socioeconomic vulnerabilities, post-flood consequences, limited healthcare access, and climatic changes that allow the disease to thrive. Thatta is an ideal region to pilot diverse intervention strategies.”
The launch event also introduced the Malaria Elimination Consortium, established by AKU in 2023 to support the national elimination strategy. The Consortium laid the foundation for the TMEP as a locally grounded, data-driven response to malaria elimination. The TMEP’s vision is ambitious – to transform Thatta into a malaria-free zone and create a replicable, sustainable model for elimination that can be scaled across Sindh, Pakistan, and other malaria-endemic regions globally.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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