These Two Countries Are Now Malaria-Free According To WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared an important milestone has been reached in fighting the mosquito-borne disease-malaria. The two countries given a clean bill of health on malaria are Algeria in North Africa and Argentina in South America. This means both countries are now free of malaria and there has not been a single case of anyone catching the disease in either country over the past three years.
Algeria is the second country in Africa to be officially recognised as malaria-free, after Mauritius, which was certified in 1973, the WHO says.
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It puts the success down to work “ensuring no-one was left behind in getting the services they needed to prevent, detect and cure the disease”.
“Algeria and Argentina have eliminated malaria thanks to the unwavering commitment and perseverance of the people and leaders of both countries.
Their success serves as a model for other countries working to end this disease once and for all.””
said Dr Tedros Adhanom, WHO Director-General, said.
The two countries join 36 others around the world which have eliminated the mosquito-borne disease – which still kills some 435,000 people a year – in the last six decades.
Millions of pounds has been invested in the fight against malaria, but the global battle against the disease is stalling. Reports say in 2017, the number of reported cases rose by 3 million to a total of 219 million globally.