Malaria has been completely eradicated in Egypt, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday, calling the result “truly historic” and the culmination of nearly a century of efforts to eradicate the disease. .
“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that struck the pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement .
“The certification of Egypt as a malaria-free country is truly historic and demonstrates the commitment of the Egyptian people and government to ridding itself of this ancient scourge,” he added.
Globally, 44 countries and one territory have been certified malaria-free.
Certification of malaria elimination is granted by the WHO when a country has proven that the chain of malaria transmission by mosquitoes has been interrupted nationally for at least the previous three consecutive years.
A country must also demonstrate its ability to prevent reestablishment of transmission.
According to the WHO, malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year, 95% of them in Africa.
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