PROFOH congratulates Sri Lanka as WHO Certified her malaria- free

Sri Lanka, among the most malaria-affected countries not long ago, has been certified malaria- free by the World Health Organization (WHO).After the Maldives, Sri Lanka is the second country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to eliminate malaria. Sixty years ago, Sri Lanka was one of the most malaria affected countries. And since October 2012, indigenous cases of malaria there have come down to zero. The pressure is now on India.

By comparison, India is third among 15 countries having the highest cases of malaria and deaths due to the disease. And while malarial deaths have fallen across the world in the last 15 years, the disease is still an acute public health problem. In 2015 alone, there were an estimated 214 million new cases of malaria .Questions are being asked, how did Sri Lanka, a tropical country, become malaria-free? WHO said that the island nation’s success comes from a strategy shift it made in 1990s.

The strategy: intensively target the parasite in addition to targeting the mosquito” The change in strategy was unorthodox, but highly effective. Mobile malaria clinics in high transmission areas meant that prompt and effective treatment could reduce the parasite reservoir and the possibility of further transmission. Effective surveillance, community engagement and health education, meanwhile, enhanced the ability of authorities to respond, and mobilized popular support for the campaign,” a WHO statement said. Considering that as many as 3.2 billion people, or almost half the world’s population, are at risk from the disease, Sri Lanka becoming malaria-free is a “remarkable public health achievement” as WHO puts it.