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HealthCape Verde

Africa: WHO declares Cape Verde free of malaria

January 12, 2024

Cape Verde has become the third country in Africa to eliminate malaria in a victory for public health authorities who followed through an extensive plan to tackle the mosquito-borne disease.

https://p.dw.com/p/4bAax
A mosquito is sitting on a mosquito net while lower-income individuals are sleeping inside the net on a van in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 4, 2023.
Mosquitoes are the main vehicle of malaria's spread, while the disease can be successfully treated with modern medicine, prevention methods like protective nets are still preferableImage: Syed Mahamudur Rahman/NurPhoto/picture alliance

The World Health Organization on Friday declared Cape Verde free of malaria, making it the third country in the African region to have achieved the status.

Cape Verde, or officially Cabo Verde using the Portuguese name, a tiny archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, joins Mauritius (in 1973) and Algeria (in 2009) in achieving the certification.

"Cabo Verde's achievement is a beacon of hope for the African Region and beyond. It demonstrates that with strong political will, effective policies, community engagement and multi-sectoral collaboration, malaria elimination is an achievable goal," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The country has faced several epidemics in  densely-populated areas before a malaria action plan, which was declared a national health policy objective in 2007, was put to work.

A hospital in Cape Verde, the African country that becomes the third in the region to eliminate mosquite-borne malaria
Cape Verde had declared the elimination of malaria a national health policy objective in 2007Image: Ângelo Semedo/DW

Between 2009 and 2013, authorities followed through a strategic malaria plan on the island chain of around 500,000 people, focusing on expanded diagnosis, early and effective treatment, as well as reporting and investigating all cases.

To stem the tide of imported cases from mainland Africa, authorities provided free diagnosis and treatment to international travelers and migrants.

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Status to boost tourism in islands

The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the country, saying it was a "testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration, and sustained effort to protect and promote health."

"This [certification] has the potential to attract more visitors and boost socio-economic activities in a country where tourism accounts for approximately 25% of GDP," a WHO statement said.

Cabo Verde joins the ranks of 43 countries and 1 territory that WHO has awarded this certification, the statement said.

The WHO certification is granted when a country has demonstrated no locally transmitted cases of malaria in at least the last three years.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that is usually transmitted by mosquitoes. It's particularly prevalent in Africa, which accounted for an estimated 95% of global malaria deaths and 94% of contaminations in 2021.

rm/msh (AFP, Reuters)