World Malaria Day: Countries that are malaria-free
Highlights
- Odisha will be the first state to achieve the malaria-free status
- El Salvador and China received the malaria-free certification in 2021
- 40 plus countries and territories in the world are malaria-free
Mosquitos are the little troublemakers who are the main cause of malaria. It is said that mainly it is spread by the female mosquito who carries a parasite known as Plasmodium into the blood that takes a toll on a person’s health. There are several countries like Africa, India, Botswana, Eswatini and others that register cases of malaria every now and then. These countries are trying their best to fight against this disease and are planning to come out of it with a victory between 2025 and 2030. On the other side, some countries have already emerged victorious in eradicating malaria. There are almost 40 plus countries and territories in the world which have been declared malaria-free nations by the World Health Organisation.
Also Read: World Malaria Day 2022: Everything you should know about the mosquito-borne disease
Countries that have fought the odds and became malaria-free in the 1960s include Grenada, Hungary, and Saint Lucia, followed by the United States Of America, Cuba, Serbia and others in the 1970s. Post that some more countries followed the same path for decades and became malaria-free. Very recently El Salvador and China received the certification in 2021 after Algeria and Argentina in 2019.
Currently, in India, there are no states that have eliminated malaria completely. But, if everything goes well, Odisha will be the first state to achieve the malaria-free status. India has set a goal of completely becoming a malaria-free nation by the year 2030. It has already started to take safety measures which will help in reaching the goal.
Also Read: Malaria Breakthrough! Know symptoms, treatment, prevention and control of mosquito caused disease
To achieve this goal, every citizen has to work for it on their own level. One can reduce the breeding of mosquitoes by taking a few preventive measures such as cleaning the area which has stagnant water since it works as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
