A sub-Saharan African nation has achieved malaria-free status for the first time in 50 years

A country in sub-Saharan Africa has been declared malaria-free for the first time in 50 years - we are talking about Cape Verde, writes UNN with reference to the BBC.

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Cape Verde received this status from the World Health Organization (WHO) because no cases of local transmission have been reported here in three years.

Experts called it a great achievement.

Cape Verde, a small island nation off the coast of West Africa, took years to reach this point, strengthening its health systems and increasing access to diagnosis and treatment for all cases.

Malaria was once found on all nine inhabited islands of Cape Verde, but in recent years it has only been found on one, São Tiago, where recent efforts have been concentrated.

Cape Verde's success "gives us hope that with existing tools as well as new ones, including vaccines, we can dare to dream of a malaria-free world," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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Malaria is a huge killer on the continent. In 2022, 580,000 people died from the disease in Africa, accounting for 95% of all deaths worldwide.

The last country in sub-Saharan Africa to be declared malaria-free was the island nation of Mauritius in 1973. Algeria in North Africa received this status in 2019.