Geneva, Beritasatu.com- The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that China was certified malaria-free on Wednesday (30/6/2021). As reported AFP, China became the 40th region certified malaria-free by WHO.
China has obtained malaria-free certification after 70 years of efforts to eradicate the disease. China reported 30 million cases of infectious diseases annually in the 1940s. But now, the country has gone four years in a row without a genuine case.
“We congratulate the Chinese people for ridding the country of malaria,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Their success is hard-earned and comes only after decades of targeted and sustained action. With this announcement, China joins a growing number of countries showing the world that a malaria-free future is a worthy goal,” the WHO added.
Countries that have achieved at least three consecutive years of zero indigenous cases can apply for WHO certification for their malaria-free status. However, authorities must present strong evidence and demonstrate capacity to prevent re-infection.
The last countries to gain malaria-free status were El Salvador this year, Algeria and Argentina in 2019 and Paraguay and Uzbekistan in 2018. There is a separate list of 61 countries where malaria either never existed, or disappeared without special action.
China is the first country in the WHO’s Western Pacific region to be awarded malaria-free certification in more than three decades. The only other countries with certified status were Australia in 1981, Singapore in 1982 and Brunei in 1987.
Source: BeritaSatu.com
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