New Delhi (NVI): El Salvador has became the first country in Central America to be a awarded certification of malaria elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The certification comes after more than 50 years of commitment by the Salvadoran government and people to end the disease in the country, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took to Twitter and congratulated ElSalvador for its remarkable achievement in ending Malaria.
“Congratulations, ElSalvador for the remarkable EndMalaria achievement! Malaria has afflicted humankind for millennia, but countries El Salvador are living proof and inspiration for all countries that we can dare to dream of a malaria-free future,” Tedros tweeted.
Congratulations, #ElSalvador for the remarkable #EndMalaria achievement! Malaria has afflicted humankind for millennia, but countries like ?? are living proof and inspiration for all countries that we can dare to dream of a malaria-free future.https://t.co/GP4QOSIYxC pic.twitter.com/xMuTHKGu3m
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 25, 2021
WHO certifies a country free of malaria when it has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous 3 consecutive years, the PAHO said in a statement.
With the exception of one outbreak in 1996, El Salvador steadily reduced its malaria burden over the last three decades.
Malaria cases in El Salvador dropped from more than 9,000 to just 26 between 1990 and 2010, according to WHO. Since 2017, the country has had zero indigenous cases of the disease.
“For decades, El Salvador has worked hard to wipe out malaria and the human suffering that it generates,” said Carissa F Etienne, Director of PAHO, WHO’s regional office for the Americas.
“Over the years, El Salvador has dedicated both the human and financial resources needed to succeed. This certification today is a life-saving achievement for the Americas,” Etienne added.
El Salvador is the third country in the WHO region of the Americas to achieve malaria-free status in recent years after Argentina in 2019 and Paraguay in 2018. “As many as 7 countries in the region were certified from 1962 to 1973. Globally, a total of 38 countries and territories have reached this milestone,” the PAHO said.
Moreover, the country has held fast to its malaria response despite not recording a death from the disease since 1984.
It has also maintained its budgeting for malaria throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, relying on 276 vector control personnel, 247 laboratories and more than 3,000 community health workers throughout 2020.
Furthermore, El Salvador is also a member of WHO’s “E-2020” initiative, a collaboration of 21 countries that were identified in 2016 as having the potential to eliminate the disease.
-RJV
