Egypt has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) – an achievement hailed by the UN’s public health agency as “truly historic”.
“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued the pharaohs is now part of their history,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Egyptian authorities launched their first efforts to eradicate the deadly mosquito-borne disease in nearly a century.
The certificate is issued when the country proves that the chain of transmission has been interrupted for at least three consecutive years. Malaria kills at least 600,000 people every year, almost all in Africa.
In a statement on Sunday, the WHO commended the “Egyptian government and people” for their efforts to “eliminate a disease that has existed in the country for a long time”.
It said that Egypt is the third country to be approved in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region, following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.
Worldwide, 44 countries and one territory have achieved this milestone.
But the WHO said the certification was “the beginning of a new phase”, urging Egypt to remain vigilant to protect its malaria-free status.
To obtain WHO certification, a country must demonstrate the ability to prevent the re-establishment of transmission.
The UN public health agency said the first efforts to prevent contact with mosquitoes in Egypt began in the 1920s when they banned the cultivation of rice and agricultural crops near homes.
Malaria is caused by a complex virus that is spread by mosquito bites.
Vaccines are now used in some areas – but monitoring the disease and avoiding mosquito bites are the most effective ways to prevent malaria.
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