Following a nearly century-long effort, Georgia has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). It joins the league of 45 other countries and one territory that have achieved this milestone.
With Georgia’s achievement, the WHO European region is a step closer to initiating certification as the first malaria-free region in the world, said Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “This doesn’t happen in a vacuum; this was made possible thanks to sustained investment, dedication of the health workforce and targeted efforts in prevention, early detection and effective treatment of all malaria cases.”
The WHO grants a certification of malaria elimination when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years.
Malaria has plagued Georgia since ancient times. Before the introduction of systematic control efforts in the early 1900s, at least three malaria parasite species — Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariaeand Plasmodium vivax — were endemic in the country. Post World War II, Georgia launched an intensive programme aimed at eliminating malaria using newer medicines, insecticide spraying and robust entomological surveillance. The campaign successfully interrupted the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum by 1953, Plasmodium malariae by 1960 and Plasmodium vivax by 1970. Georgia remained malaria-free for 25 years, but by 2002 there was a resurgence with 474 cases reported.
In 2005, together with nine countries in the WHO European region, Georgia signed the Tashkent Declaration, reaffirming its pledge to eliminate malaria. The intensified interventions significantly reduced malaria incidence in Georgia, with the last indigenous case recorded in 2009. By 2015, all 53 countries of the WHO European region, including Georgia, reported zero indigenous cases of malaria, the WHO said.