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Oct 20, 2024

Egypt declared malaria-free

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FA News Desk
Bed nets remain an important tool to protect against malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Photo: UNICEF/Frank Dejongh/File
Bed nets remain an important tool to protect against malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Photo: UNICEF/Frank Dejongh/File

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Egypt as a malaria-free country.

According to WHO information, the achievement follows a nearly 100-year effort by the Egyptian government and people to end a disease that has been present in the country since ancient times, marking a significant public health milestone for a country with more than 100 million inhabitants.

Malaria has been traced as far back as 4000 B.C.E. in Egypt, with genetic evidence of the disease found in Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian mummies. Malaria cases in Egypt had spiked to more than 3 million by 1942.

With most of Egypt’s population living along the banks of the Nile River and malaria prevalence as high as 40%, the country designated malaria a notifiable disease in 1930 and later opened its first malaria control station focused on diagnosis, treatment and surveillance. Now, Egypt succeeded in controlling the malaria outbreak.

Egypt is the third country to be awarded a malaria-free certification in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, and the first since 2010. Globally, a total of 44 countries and 1 territory have reached this milestone.