Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday asked the Health Department officials to take it as a challenge and make the state Malaria free by 2027, three years before the Union government target of 2030.

Speaking at an event at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute on the occasion of World Malaria Day, Sudhakar said that Malaria is a disease predominantly seen in tropical countries and with India accounting for 70 per cent to 80 per cent of Malaria cases across South Asia and Southeast Asia.

He highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the prevention, detection and treatment of Malaria.