WHO Declares Egypt 'Malaria-Free'

Facts

• The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Egypt 'malaria-free' Sunday, stating that the achievement marks the end of a 'nearly 100-year effort by the Egyptian government and people.'^[1]
• Egypt is now one of 44 countries and one territory around the world to have reached this milestone — the third in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, and the first since 2010.^[1][2]
• The WHO Director-General grants a malaria-free certification based on technical recommendations when a country proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that no local malaria transmission has happened for at least three years and demonstrates its capacity to prevent the re-establishment of the transmission.^[1][3]
• Egypt began its path to eradicating the disease as far back as ancient times by limiting mosquito-attracting crops near homes in 1923, with surges reported during World War II, and the building of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s.^[1][3][4]
• Egypt provides free malaria diagnosis and treatment to its population, with health professionals trained to detect cases of the mosquito-borne disease — including at borders. Malaria vaccines are now available, but monitoring and avoiding mosquito bites remain the most effective forms of prevention.^[1][5]
• There were 249M recorded malaria cases around the world in 2022, and an estimated 600K people die from malaria every year — the vast majority of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.^[6][3]

Sources: ^[1]World Health Organization, ^[2]Africanews, ^[3]Al Jazeera, ^[4]Good News Network, ^[5]BBC News and ^[6]Semafor.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by How Can We End Malaria?. The world is on a positive path toward eradicating malaria — from billions of cases prevented to millions of lives saved. While there's still more work for governments to accomplish, including preventive strategies like vaccines, mosquito sprays, and bed nets, as well as other treatments, we are for the first time in a strong position to end rather than merely control this disease.
• Narrative B, as provided by Sciencedirect. The fight against malaria is far from over. Cases have stagnated since 2015 and are rising in parts of Africa as mosquitoes develop resistance to nets and sprays. Low-income countries lack resources for prevention, while vaccines face distribution challenges. Without sustained global commitment and ever-evolving tools, even our modest gains could be lost.

Predictions