Cape Verde becomes third African nation to be declared malaria-free
Malaria
Cape Verde has achieved a decisive victory against malaria bybecoming the third African Nation to rid itself of the disease. This is a substantial victory especially given that the mosquito-borne disease continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people on the continent, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.
Malaria-Free nations
Worldwide, only 43 nations have been certified as malaria-free by the WHO. For this certification, a nation needs to prove that the domestic chain of transmission has been broken for at least three consecutive years, reports AFP.
On the African continent, before Cape Verde, Mauritius in 1973 and Algeria in 2019, were declared malaria-free.
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Acknowledging the achievement of the Atlantic archipelago of about 500,000 inhabitants, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "I salute the government and people of Cabo Verde for their unwavering commitment and resilience in their journey to eliminating malaria."
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"WHO's certification of Cabo Verde being malaria-free is testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration, and sustained effort to protect and promote health," he added.
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The WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti also expressed happiness and said, "Cabo Verde's achievement is a beacon of hope for the African Region and beyond. It demonstrates that with strong political will, effective policies, community engagement and multi-sectoral collaboration, malaria elimination is an achievable goal."
Stressing the advantages this certification will have for Cape Verde, WHO said that it "has the potential to attract more visitors and boost socio-economic activities in a country where tourism accounts for approximately 25 per cent of GDP."
Malaria
As per WHO estimates, in 2022, malaria killed 608,000 people worldwide and infected 250 million.
The disease, as per AFP, is particularly present in Africa. In 2021, the nation accounted for 95 per cent of deaths and 94 per cent of contaminations. Furthermore, on the continent, children under five represented 80 per cent of the deaths.
Cape Verde went through its last malaria peak in the late 1980s. Since then, it has been confined to two islands: Santiago and Boa Vista. Both the islands have now been malaria-free since 2017.
In 2007, eliminating malaria became a national objective for Cape Verde, and subsequently, it came up with a strategic malaria plan from 2009 to 2013.
(With inputs from agencies)
