Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: The state government and Tata Trusts will work together to eradicate malaria in the state.

Odisha accounts for around 38 per cent of India's malaria burden and 28 per cent of its malaria deaths, said sources. The project will be carried out on a pilot basis in 607 villages in five blocks of Rayagada, Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts.

'We have been jointly working with the state to promote partnership-driven solutions through technology for improving surveillance and monitoring, agile diagnosis and prompt treatment, vector control, creative communication package and most importantly, building capacities and ownership of local citizens,' said Jayeeta Chaudhury, senior programme officer of Tata Trusts' Malaria Initiative.

With this partnership, Tata Trusts hopes to enable Odisha to achieve elimination of malaria by 2030. 'We aim to impact eight million lives in south Odisha in the next five years. Direct implementation will benefit three million lives in Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Rayagada districts,' she said.

A mobile application has been developed to record information related to health at the village level by village health volunteers. This will help in carrying out real-time surveillance of the vulnerable pockets. Besides, portable digital microscopes will be supplied to the field-level workers who can get the results of a blood test instantly, which will help in loss of time for starting the treatment in case of positive patients, Chaudhury said.

The state government has signed a deal with the trust to bring down overall prevalence of malaria in the state.