Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Cabo Verde as a Malaria-free country.

• Cabo Verde now joins Mauritius and Algeria as the third country in the WHO African region to be certified as malaria-free.

What is the Malaria Elimination Certification Process?

• About:
  • WHO certifies a country as malaria-free when it demonstrates the interruption of nationwide malaria transmission for at least 3 consecutive years and has a fully functional surveillance and response system preventing re-establishment of indigenous transmission.
• Global Status:
  • Till now, WHO has awarded the ‘malaria-free’ certification to 43 countries and 1 territory.
  • South East Asian Region: Maldives (2015) and Sri Lanka (2016) are certified malaria-free by WHO.
    • India is not certified as Malaria free.

What is Malaria?

• Malaria is a life-threatening mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium parasites.
  • There are 5 Plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat.
• Malaria is predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America as well as Asia.
• Malaria is spread by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
  • The mosquito becomes infected after biting an infected person. The malaria parasites then enter the bloodstream of the next person the mosquito bites. The parasites travel to the liver, mature, and then infect red blood cells.
• Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Notably, malaria is both preventable and curable.