GENEVA, OCT 21 – Egypt was declared malaria-free yesterday, with the World Health Organization (WHO) describing the achievement as ‘truly historic’ and the culmination of nearly a century of work to fight the disease.
“Malaria has existed since the Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that haunted the pharaohs is now part of history and not its future,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
“The confirmation of Egypt as malaria-free is truly historic, and a testament to the commitment of the Egyptian people and government to rid themselves of this ancient scourge.”
Globally, 44 countries and one region have now been certified malaria-free.
Certification is given by the WHO when a country has proven that the chain of transmission of native malaria by Anopheles mosquitoes has been broken throughout the country for about three consecutive years.
A country also needs to demonstrate the ability to prevent the recovery of contagion.
Malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year, 95 percent of them in Africa, according to the WHO.
There will be 249 million cases of malaria recorded worldwide in 2022.
Spread by mosquitoes, malaria is mostly found in tropical countries. The infection is caused by parasites.
“Receiving the malaria elimination certificate today is not the end of the journey but the beginning of a new phase,” said Egypt’s Minister of Health, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.
“We must now work relentlessly and vigilantly to maintain our achievements by adhering to the highest standards for surveillance, diagnosis and treatment.”
The WHO notes that early efforts to reduce human-mosquito contact in Egypt began in the 1920s when it banned the cultivation of rice and other agricultural crops near homes. – AFP
