Challenges in sustaining the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in India

TL;DR

India is nearing the elimination of kala-azar, but sustaining this success requires ongoing political and research efforts.

Contribution

The paper emphasizes the need to maintain political and socioeconomic efforts alongside research to ensure long-term elimination of visceral leishmaniasis.

Findings

India is in the final phase of eliminating kala-azar.

Sustaining success requires continued political commitment and operational research.

Zero transmission is achievable with sustained efforts.

Abstract

The South East Asian initiative for elimination of kala-azar from the Indian subcontinent that began in 2005 is coming to fruition, with India in the last mile of elimination. This aptly timed commentary based on the publication of Pandey et al. (2025) entitled ‘Kala-azar elimination in India: reflections on success and sustainability’ highlights the complementarity of political commitment that ensured socioeconomic development, along with evidence-based operational research, that needs to be sustained for zero transmission to become a reality.