Uzbekistan declared a malaria-free country by WHO
Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:09:am Health
4.1K By Obiaks Blog
Uzbekistan has been certified a malaria-free country by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, after a long and deadly battle with the disease which has killed nearly 40,000 people in the capital district in the late nineteenth century and infected one tenth of the population in 1943
Executive Director of the Global Fund, a UN-backed partnership to end malaria epidemics, Peter Sands, spoke about the achievenment saying, "We have achieved remarkable progress against malaria in Central Asia. It's a great example of commitment and a sustainable approach.
"The Global Fund has invested in this region for over a decade. With committed partners, every investment can achieve great value."
The Global Fund and WHO provided assistance to Uzbekistan to combat malaria, thorugh the application of innovative results-based approach that ultimately led the country on the path to finally eliminating the disease in 2018.
Uzbekistan is the latest addition to a growing list of Central Asia countries to be declared malaria free, with Turkmenistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan been classed as malaria-free since 2010.
Despite this success, the WHO's 2018 World malaria report, released in November, indicates that there is a growing global rate of infection causing targets set for the reduction of new infection cases worldwide are not being met.
New cases of infection fell steadily up until 2016, when the number rose from 217 million to 219 million in 2017.
"A child dies of malaria every two minutes. We have to stop that, enabling elimination where possible, and reducing malaria as much as we can in the hardest-hit countries," Sands said.
Executive Director of the Global Fund, a UN-backed partnership to end malaria epidemics, Peter Sands, spoke about the achievenment saying, "We have achieved remarkable progress against malaria in Central Asia. It's a great example of commitment and a sustainable approach.
"The Global Fund has invested in this region for over a decade. With committed partners, every investment can achieve great value."
The Global Fund and WHO provided assistance to Uzbekistan to combat malaria, thorugh the application of innovative results-based approach that ultimately led the country on the path to finally eliminating the disease in 2018.
Uzbekistan is the latest addition to a growing list of Central Asia countries to be declared malaria free, with Turkmenistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan been classed as malaria-free since 2010.
Despite this success, the WHO's 2018 World malaria report, released in November, indicates that there is a growing global rate of infection causing targets set for the reduction of new infection cases worldwide are not being met.
New cases of infection fell steadily up until 2016, when the number rose from 217 million to 219 million in 2017.
"A child dies of malaria every two minutes. We have to stop that, enabling elimination where possible, and reducing malaria as much as we can in the hardest-hit countries," Sands said.
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