Cape Verde has defeated malaria. This was announced by the World Health Organization, which has certified the archipelago of 10 islands in the central Atlantic Ocean as a “malaria-free country”. A “historic milestone” in the fight against the infection carried by mosquitoes, the WHO defines it, which at a global level brings the malaria-free areas to “43 countries and one territory”. In the African Region, “Cape Verde is the third country to receive certification – recalls the United Nations health agency – after Mauritius in 1973 and Algeria in 2019”. The African continent remains the most affected by the disease, with “95% of cases and 96% of deaths recorded in 2021”.
“I pay tribute to the Government and people of Cape Verde for their continued commitment and resilience on the path to eliminating malaria,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The new certification, he adds, “is a testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration and sustained effort to protect and promote health. Cape Verde's success is the latest in the global fight against malaria and gives us hope that with existing tools, as well as new ones, including vaccines, we can allow ourselves to dream of a world free from malaria.”
As an effect of the certification, the WHO predicts for Cape Verde “a positive development on many fronts”, especially in tourism which represents “around 25% of the country's GDP”, and in the strength of the health system to “counter other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes like Dengue fever”. Obtaining the qualification of malaria-free country – assigned by the Geneva agency following “rigorous and credible evidence” demonstrating the interruption of the local transmission chain of the infection “at least in the last 3 consecutive years”, as well as the ability to prevent the resumption of infections – is “a milestone” that was not easy for Cape Verde to reach. Before the 1950s, all the islands of the archipelago were affected by the disease. Subsequently the country eliminated it twice, in 1967 and 1983, but then the infection began to circulate again. After the last peak of cases, in the late 1980s, malaria remained only on the islands of Santiago and Boa Vista, which have now both been free of the disease since 2017.
“The certification of a malaria-free country has a huge impact and it took a long time to get there,” says the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva. “In terms of image this is very positive – he highlights – both for tourism and for every other sector. The health challenge that Cape Verde has overcome is now recognised”.
For the director of WHO Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, “” the Cape Verde result is a beacon of hope for the African region and beyond. He demonstrates that, with strong political will, effective policies, community commitment and multi-sectoral collaboration, malaria elimination is an achievable goal. Cape Verde's achievement is an inspiring example for other nations to follow.”
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