The World Health Group (WHO) has licensed Egypt as malaria-free, marking a wide public health milestone for a nation with bigger than 100 million inhabitants. The achievement follows a virtually 100-year effort by the Egyptian authorities and folks to entire a disease that has been most standard in the nation since out of date times.
“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future,” acknowledged Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-Favorite. “This certification of Egypt as malaria-free is truly historic, and a testament to the commitment of the people and government of Egypt to rid themselves of this ancient scourge. I congratulate Egypt on this achievement, which is an inspiration to other countries in the region, and shows what’s possible with the right resources and the right tools.”
Egypt is the third nation to be awarded a malaria-free certification in the WHO Jap Mediterranean Position following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, and the first since 2010. Globally, a entire of 44 worldwide locations and 1 territory fill reached this milestone.
“Receiving the malaria elimination certificate today is not the end of the journey but the beginning of a new phase. We must now work tirelessly and vigilantly to sustain our achievement through maintaining the highest standards for surveillance, diagnosis and treatment, integrated vector management and sustaining our effective and rapid response to imported cases. Our continued multisectoral efforts will be critical to preserving Egypt’s malaria-free status,” acknowledged H.E. Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt.
“I reaffirm that we will continue with determination and strong will to safeguard the health of all people in Egypt under the wise leadership’s guidance and proceed with enhancing our healthcare system, this will remain a cornerstone in protecting the lives of all people living in and visiting Egypt.”
Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a nation has proven, beyond cheap doubt, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for a minimal of the previous three consecutive years. A nation must furthermore expose the skill to forestall the re-institution of transmission.
Egypt’s chase to elimination
Malaria has been traced map back to 4000 B.C.E. in Egypt, with genetic evidence of the disease chanced on in Tutankhamun and other out of date Egyptian mummies.
Early efforts to lower human-mosquito contact in Egypt started in the 1920s when the nation prohibited the cultivation of rice and agricultural plants shut to properties. With most of Egypt’s inhabitants residing alongside the banks of the Nile River and malaria occurrence as high as 40%, the nation designated malaria a notifiable disease in 1930 and later opened its first malaria modify residing centered on prognosis, treatment and surveillance.
“Today, Egypt has proven that with vision, dedication, and unity we can overcome the greatest challenges. This success in eliminating malaria is not just a victory for public health but a sign of hope for the entire world, especially for other endemic countries in our region. This achievement is the result of sustained, robust surveillance investments in a strong, integrated health system, where community engagement and partnerships have enabled progress. Furthermore, collaboration and support to endemic countries, such as Sudan, remain a priority,” acknowledged Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Jap Mediterranean.
By 1942, malaria cases in Egypt had spiked to better than 3 million as a results of the 2d World War inhabitants displacement, the disruption of medical presents and services, and the invasion of Anopheles arabiensis, a highly atmosphere friendly mosquito vector, amongst other components. Egypt succeeded in controlling the malaria outbreak during the institution of 16 treatment divisions and the recruitment of bigger than 4000 health crew.
Join free AllAfrica Newsletters
Bag basically the most standard in African recordsdata delivered straight to your inbox
The come of the Aswan Dam, accomplished in 1969, created a brand contemporary malaria anxiousness for the nation, as standing water produced breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Egypt, in collaboration with Sudan, launched a rigorous vector modify and public health surveillance project to without warning detect and answer to malaria outbreaks.
By 2001, malaria turned into firmly below modify and the Ministry of Health and Inhabitants residing its sights on combating the re-institution of local malaria transmission. Egypt without warning contained a minute outbreak of malaria cases in the Aswan Governorate in 2014 through early case identification, urged treatment, vector modify and public education.
Malaria prognosis and treatment are supplied free-of-cost to the total inhabitants in Egypt irrespective of accurate attach, and health professionals are trained nationwide to detect and screen for malaria cases at the side of at borders. Egypt’s robust injurious-border partnership with neighbouring worldwide locations, at the side of Sudan, has been instrumental for combating the re-institution of local malaria transmission, paving the vogue for the nation to be formally licensed as malaria-free.
