Demand–supply gaps in human resources to combat vector-borne disease in India: capacity-building measures in medical entomology

ABSTRACT

Vector-borne diseases account for a significant proportion of the global burden ofinfectious disease. They are one of the greatest contributors to human mortalityand morbidity in tropical settings, including India. The World Health Organizationdeclared vector-borne diseases as theme for the year 2014, and thus called forrenewed commitment to their prevention and control. Human resources are criticalto support public health systems, and medical entomologists play a crucial role inpublic health efforts to combat vector-borne diseases. This paper aims to reviewthe capacity-building initiatives in medical entomology in India, to understandthe demand and supply of medical entomologists, and to give future directionfor the initiation of need-based training in the country. A systematic, predefinedapproach, with three parallel strategies, was used to collect and assemble the dataregarding medical entomology training in India and assess the demand-supplygap in medical entomologists in the country. The findings suggest that, consideringthe high burden of vector-borne diseases in the country and the growing need ofhealth manpower specialized in medical entomology, the availability of specializedtraining in medical entomology is insufficient in terms of number and intakecapacity. The demand analysis of medical entomologists in India suggests a widegap in demand and supply, which needs to be addressed to cater for the burden ofvector-borne diseases in the country