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Egypt has officially been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), marking a “truly historic” achievement, according to the UN public health agency.
“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to history,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Egypt launched its initial efforts to eradicate the mosquito-borne disease nearly a century ago. WHO certification is awarded when a country proves it has interrupted malaria transmission for at least three consecutive years. Globally, malaria kills over 600,000 people annually, most of them in Africa.
In a statement, the WHO praised the Egyptian government and its people for eliminating a disease that had long been present in the country. Egypt is the third nation in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region to achieve this certification, following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Worldwide, 44 countries and one territory have reached malaria-free status.
However, the WHO emphasized that Egypt must remain vigilant to prevent the re-establishment of transmission. The country must continue to demonstrate its ability to prevent new cases to maintain its certification.
Egypt’s efforts to control malaria date back to the 1920s when authorities began limiting mosquito-human contact by banning rice cultivation near residential areas. Today, while vaccines are in use in some areas, monitoring and mosquito bite prevention remain the most effective measures against the disease.
