Health institute to assess preparedness of states in dealing with snakebite cases

The National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) will assess states’ preparedness in mitigating snakebite incidents.

The evaluation report, identifying gaps and areas for improvement, will be submitted to the Union Health Ministry in May.

India records an estimated 3-4 million snakebites annually, resulting in around 50,000 deaths — half of the global snakebite fatalities. However, only a small fraction of victims seek medical care, leading to significant underreporting.

Last year, the Union Health Ministry launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAP-SE), aiming to halve snakebite deaths by 2030. States were instructed to develop action plans to mitigate snakebite cases.

As a pilot project, NIHFW teams will visit Rajasthan, Assam, Gujarat and Karnataka — states with high snakebite incidence — to collaborate with health and forest departments. The evaluation report will inform the Health Ministry’s next steps.

“We have selected districts based on snakebite prevalence: Hassan in Karnataka, Valsad in Gujarat, Sivasagar in Assam and Barmer in Rajasthan. Our goal is to reduce snakebite mortality by 2030. States must formulate action plans to address this issue. The evaluation will assess their progress,” said Dr Monika Saini, Assistant Professor at NIHFW.

Annually, Assam reports an average of 35,000 snakebite cases, followed by Gujarat (25,000) and Karnataka (13,000).

“We will evaluate capacity-building programmes in these states, as tackling snakebites requires an intersectoral approach. We will also assess the development of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material to raise awareness, particularly in rural areas, about venomous snakes and the availability of anti-snake venom,” Saini added.