Jumoke Olasunkanmi
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially certified Cape Verde as a malaria-free country, making it the third country alongside Mauritius and Algeria in the WHO’s African region to attain this status.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, “WHO’s certification of Cabo Verde being malaria-free is a testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration, and sustained effort to protect and promote health.”
The certification serves as WHO’s formal acknowledgement of a country’s malaria-free status, granted after rigorous evaluation of credible evidence demonstrating the interruption of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes for a minimum of three consecutive years. Additionally, the country must exhibit the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission.
Cabo Verde, an island country consisting of ten volcanic islands in the Central Atlantic Ocean, had faced malaria challenges in the past, with prevalence before the 1950s and subsequent reemergence despite successful elimination efforts in 1967 and 1983.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, highlighted the significance of Cape Verde’s achievement, stating that the country’s malaria-free journey will serve as an inspiration to other African countries to follow suit.
She 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 multisectoral collaboration, malaria elimination is an achievable goal.”
This certification is a significant milestone in global health, particularly for an African country, as the continent bears the highest malaria burden, responsible for approximately 95 per cent of global malaria cases and 96 per cent of malaria-related deaths in 2021.
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