Island nation’s success means ‘we can dare to dream of malaria-free world,’ WHO’s director-general says
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2020. On Friday, he praised Cabo Verde for its “unwavering commitment and resilience” in the fight to end malaria. File Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA-EFE
The World Health Organization declared the Atlantic Ocean island country of Cabo Verde to be malaria-free after decades of disease spreads and spikes.
Cabo Verde, which includes 10 islands in the central Atlantic Ocean, joins Algeria and Mauritius as the only countries in the region to have the health designation. Advertisement
For years, Cabo Verde was a haven for the mosquito-borne disease, but pesticide spraying was thought to eliminate it in 1967 and 1983. It returned to reach its last peak in the late 1980s.
The Cabo Verde islands of Santiago and Boa Vista have been malaria-free since 2017.
“I salute the government and people of Cabo Verde for their unwavering commitment and resilience in their journey to eliminating malaria,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus. “WHO’s certification of Cabo Verde being malaria-free is a testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration, and sustained effort to protect and promote health.”
Symptoms for malaria often include a fever, chills and flu-like experiences, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can lead to severe complications and death if left untreated.
“Cabo Verde’s success is the latest in the global fight against malaria, and gives us hope that with existing tools, as well was new ones including vaccines, we can dare to dream of a malaria-free world,” Ghebreyesus said. Advertisement
In October, the WHO recommended a new malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, adding it to the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine. The later vaccine faced high demand with limited supply.
