The World Health Organization officially declared Cape Verde free of malaria. The archipelago, located in West Africa, which consists of nine islands, was officially accredited by the World Health Organization during a ceremony held on Friday and attended by the organization’s director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, according to the Africa News website.
Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulysses Correa e Silva, welcomed this achievement. “For a country where tourism is the main economic activity, eliminating malaria removes restrictions on movement and boosts health confidence,” Silva said.
This historic achievement makes Cape Verde only the third country on the African continent to eliminate malaria, after Mauritius and Algeria. The World Health Organization has stated that Africa bears a disproportionately large proportion of the world’s malaria burden. In 2022, the region was home to 94% of malaria cases (233 million cases) and 95% (580,000) of malaria deaths.
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2024-01-14 08:57:17
