Dhaka: Health experts here on Saturday called for raising social awareness on malaria and further expanding its health services all over the country for eliminating the disease.

Awareness raising–advocacy, communication and social mobilisation–and mosquito control programmes need to be strengthened further, they said, underscoring the need for coordination and partnership between the government and private sector for achieving success in this regard.

They came up with the remarks addressing a press conference at MIS auditorium of Health Directorate at Mohakhali in Dhaka.

Jointly organised by National Malaria Control Programme and BRAC, the press conference was arranged ahead of the World Malaria Day that falls on 25 April.

Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general of Health Directorate, Abul Khair Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, line director of communicable diseases control, Prof Dr MA Faiz, former director general of Health Directorate, Mohammad Akramul Islam, director of TB, Malaria and Wash programme of Brac, Toufik Maruf, president of Health Reporters’ Forum, and Abu Naim, evaluator of Malaria Control Programme spoke at the press conference.

Mohammad Nazrul Islam, monitoring and evaluation expert of the Malaria Control Programme, presented the keynote paper.

Fifty-four people died of the disease in 2014 and 2015 in the country, they told the media.

About 97,199 people were affected by it during the period. Currently, over 1.32 crore people are at risk of it.

Thirteen of the country’s 64 districts are malaria-prone areas. Of them, three districts–Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban–are highly prone areas.

The speakers said certain people are more vulnerable and they are children, aged under five, and pregnant women who live in malaria-prone areas and travellers who come to malaria-prone areas from non-prone or less-prone areas.

About the preventive measures, the speakers advised