El Salvador is the first country in Central America to receive this status, third in all of America in recent years
El Salvador was today the first country in Central America to receive a malaria eradication certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO). The testimony follows more than 50 years of commitment by the Salvadoran government and people to eradicate the disease in a country with a dense population and a geography that is hostile to malaria.
“Malaria has plagued humanity for thousands of years, but countries like El Salvador are a living proof and inspiration for all the countries we can dream of a future without malaria,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General.
WHO confirms the eradication of malaria when a country has determined, without reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous spread throughout the country has been interrupted for at least three consecutive years.
With the exception of one revolution in 1996, El Salvador has steadily reduced its malaria burden over the last three decades. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of malaria cases decreased from more than 9000 to 26. The country has reported zero native cases of the disease since 2017.
“For decades, El Salvador has worked hard to eradicate malaria and the human suffering it generates,” said Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO regional office for America. “Over the years, El Salvador has provided the human and financial resources needed to succeed. This certificate is today a life-saving achievement for Americans. “
El Salvador is the third country to achieve malaria-free status in recent years in the WHO Department of America, following Argentina in 2019 and Paraguay in 2018. Seven countries in the region were tested from 1962 to 1973. Globally, in total 38 countries and regions have reached this milestone.
El Salvador’s Minister of Health, Dr Francisco José Alabi Montoya, said: “The people and government of El Salvador, along with health workers, have been fighting malaria for decades. Today we are celebrating this historic achievement by receiving a free El Salvador malaria certificate. ”
El Salvador Road to Extermination
El Salvador’s anti-malaria efforts began in the 1940s with mechanical control of the vector malaria – the mosquito – through the construction of the first permanent drains in swamps, followed by indoor spraying with the pesticide DDT. In the mid-1950s, El Salvador established the National Malaria Program (CNAP) and hired a network of community health workers to detect and treat malaria across the country. The volunteers, known as “Col Vol,” recorded malaria cases and interventions. The data, imported into health information systems by vector controllers, allowed for strategic and focused responses across the country.
By the late 1960s, progress had slowed as mosquitoes evolved against DDT. Expansion in the country’s cotton industry is thought to have spurred another rise in malaria cases. During the 1970s, there was an increase in migrant workers on cotton estates in coastal areas near mosquito breeding sites, as well as the cessation of DDT use. El Salvador led to a malaria recovery, reaching a peak of nearly 96 000 cases in 1980.
With support from PAHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), El Salvador succeeded in its malaria program, which led to a better focus on resources and interventions based on geographic distribution. of cases. The government also downgraded the network of diagnostic laboratories in 1987, allowing cases to be detected and treated more quickly. These factors and the decline of the cotton industry caused a rapid decline of cases in the 1980s.
The 2009 health reform, which included significant improvements to the budget and coverage of primary health care, as well as maintaining a vector control program as a technical leader in malaria interventions, contributed to El Salvador’s success.
Rural management and regular funding
The government of El Salvador recognized early on that regular and appropriate domestic financing would be essential to achieve and maintain its health-related goals, including malaria. This commitment has been reflected for more than 50 years in national budget lines.
Despite reporting his last malaria-related death in 1984, El Salvador has maintained its domestic investments for malaria. In 2020, the country continued to rely on 276 vector controllers, 247 laboratories, nurses and doctors involved in case detection, epidemiologists, management teams and staff, and more than 3000 people. community health work. As part of El Salvador ‘s commitment to maintaining zero cases, national budgeting for malaria has been and will be maintained, even through the pandemic.
Global and regional initiatives
El Salvador is a member of the WHO global “E-2020” campaign – a group of 21 countries identified in 2016 as having the potential to eradicate malaria by 2020. With support from WHO and PAHO, National program staff from El Salvador has participated in a global meeting that brings together countries eradicating malaria to share innovations and best practices.
While most of the funding for malaria came from domestic resources, an effort to eradicate El Salvador benefited from external grants provided by the Global Fund.
In 2019, El Salvador joined the Regional Malaria Eradication Initiative (RMEI), organized by the Inter-American Development Bank with technical leadership from PAHO and participation of the Central American Council of Health Ministers ( COMISCA). The campaign supports the Central Americas, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia in a cooperative effort to eradicate malaria.
PAHO has provided technical assistance through an campaign against El Salvador’s malaria, from control to eradication to prevention of relapse of the disease. The success of El Salvador contributes significantly to the PAHO Eradication Initiative, a collaborative effort between governments, civil society, academics, the private sector and communities to eradicate more than 30 infectious diseases and related conditions in America , including malaria, by 2030.
Note to Editor
Global and regional trends
Contracted through the bite of infectious mosquitoes, malaria remains one of the leading killers in the world, with over 200 million cases and 400 000 malaria-related deaths reported each year. About two-thirds of deaths are among children under five.
As of 2019, America reported 723 000 confirmed cases of malaria, compared to nearly 1.2 million cases in 2000. The total number of malaria deaths fell by 52% in the same period – from 410 to 197. From 2015, the Region has seen a 66% increase in cases largely due to increased malaria spread in some countries. Despite the rise, advances in malaria continue. In 2020, Belize completed two years without the spread of native malaria and, by the end of 2020, 10 countries and regions reported less than 2000 cases in 2019.
Facebook Live
Experts from El Salvador’s Ministry of Health, PAHO, and WHO experts will discuss El Salvador’s path to certification during a Facebook Live session on Friday, Feb. 26 at 11 EST. Simultaneous English translation will be provided. To join, go to Facebook