| Kala-Azar is a slow progressing disease caused by Parasites of the Leishmania Genus. According to the World Health Organization, the disease is endemic in three countries –Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Approximately 147 million people in the region are “at risk” from the disease.
In India, the disease is endemic in eastern States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The disease affects mostly poor people living in rural areas. The National Vector Borne Disease Programme has been operational to prevent the spread of this disease. Directorate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) is the central nodal agency for the prevention and control of vector borne diseases i.e. Malaria, Dengue, Lymphatic Filariasis, Kala-Azar and Japanese Encephalitis in India. It is one of the Technical Departments of the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India. Under this programme, the Government of India provided Kala-Azar medicines, insecticides and technical support. The State governments implemented the programme through its primary health care system. The District, Zonal and State malaria control organizations provided other costs involved in strategy implementation.
To deal with Kala-Azar, the government organized a sponsored control program in endemic areas in 1990-91. The programme strategy includes vector control through Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) with Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) up to a height of 6 feet from the ground. This is done twice annually. Early diagnosis, complete treatment and capacity building are other programme strategies. As a result of the success of the program, Kala-Azar cases were down by over 76 per cent in 2003 as compared to 1992. The government aims at eliminating the disease completely by 2010. The elimination program is 100 per cent centrally sponsored. In addition to medicines and insecticides, the Centre also provides cash assistance to endemic States since December 2003 to facilitate effective strategy implementation.
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