The World Health Organization (OMS) granted them the status of “malaria-free country”. And this certification follows a sustained, century-long effort by these two countries to eradicate the disease.
“The people and governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have worked long and hard to eliminate malaria,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. “Their success is further proof that it is possible to eliminate malaria with the necessary resources and political commitment. I hope that other countries can learn from their experience”.
Azerbaijan detected its last case of locally transmitted Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) malaria in 2012 and Tajikistan in 2014. With today’s announcement, a total of 41 countries and one territory have been certified free of malaria by WHO, including 21 countries in the European Region.
Investing in universal health coverage and the fight once morest malaria
“Azerbaijan and Tajikistan’s success was made possible by sustained investment and dedication of health personnel, as well as targeted prevention, early detection and treatment of all malaria cases,” said said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, noting that the WHO European Region is now on the verge of becoming the first region in the world to be completely malaria-free.
For more than six decades, the two governments have guaranteed universal primary health care. They strongly supported targeted interventions once morest malaria – including, for example, preventive measures such as spraying insecticides on the interior walls of houses.
This campaign also focused on promoting the early detection and treatment of all cases, and maintaining the skills and capacities of all health workers engaged in malaria elimination.
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan both use national electronic malaria surveillance systems that can detect cases in near real time and conduct rapid investigations to determine whether an infection is local or imported. Other interventions include biological methods to control larvae, such as mosquito-eating fish, and water management measures to reduce malaria vectors.
A female Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding on the blood of a human.
A fight of almost a century
All the same, it took nearly a century for these two countries to succeed in eradicating this infection caused by a parasite transmitted to humans by a mosquito. Especially since since the 1920s, a significant part of the economy of Tajikistan and, to a lesser extent, of Azerbaijan, has depended on agricultural production, in particular cotton and rice.
Agricultural irrigation systems in both countries have always posed a malaria risk to workers. Both countries have systems in place to protect agricultural workers by providing free access to malaria diagnosis and treatment within the public health system.
Malaria personnel are able to test, diagnose and immediately treat infected workers with the appropriate antimalarial drugs. Other program activities include regular assessment of the judicious use of insecticides for vector control, implementation of water management systems, and public education on malaria prevention.
In 2021, 247 million cases were reported worldwide, and more than 619,000 people died. More than 95% of the victims are recorded in Africa, and in particular in sub-Saharan Africa. Children under 5 accounted for 80% of all malaria deaths on the African continent.
