WHO certifies Tajikistan, Azerbaijan as malaria-free

Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have received certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating malaria in their countries. The designation comes after a long-term, century-long campaign by the two nations to eradicate the illness.

“The people and governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have worked long and hard to eliminate malaria,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Their accomplishment is further proof that, with the right resources and political commitment, eliminating malaria is possible. I hope that other countries can learn from their experience.”

A nation's status as being malaria-free is formally acknowledged by WHO through certification of malaria elimination. A nation is given the certification if it can demonstrate, by rigorous, reliable evidence, that the cycle of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been broken countrywide for at least the previous three years. A nation must also show that it has the ability to stop transmission from starting up again.

“Azerbaijan’s and Tajikistan’s achievement was possible thanks to sustained investment and the dedication of the health workforce, together with targeted prevention, early detection and treatment of all malaria cases. The WHO European Region is now two steps closer to becoming the first region in the world to be fully malaria-free,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

In Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, respectively, the last cases of locally transmitted Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria were discovered in 2012 and 2014. With today's news, the WHO has certified a total of 41 nations and 1 territory as being malaria-free, including 21 nations in the European Region.

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