As the anti-malaria fight continues, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday has certified Georgia malaria-free, marking her the 45th country and 1 territory to have achieved this remarkable milestone.
This came following a nearly century-long effort.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, while congratulating the country, described their commitment as a source of hope, marking the possibility of making the world malaria-free.
Ghebreyesus said, “Today we congratulate the people of Georgia for their decades of targeted and sustained actions to eliminate malaria, one of the world’s leading killers.”
Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, underscored the significant outcome. Kluge said, “This is a huge milestone worth marking; with Georgia’s achievement, the WHO European Region is another step closer to initiating certification as the first malaria-free region in the world.”
Kluge highlighted that this achievement was successful due to sustained investment, a dedicated health workforce and preventive efforts, early detection, and effective treatment of all malaria cases.
According to WHO, it said that certification of malaria elimination is granted 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.
The Minister of Health, Mikheil Sarjveladze, explained that with this achievement of the sustainable healthcare system, the country can address important health challenges.
The revolution
In the early 1900s, being plagued in the country, it was recorded that at least 3 malaria parasite species—P. falciparum, P. malariae, and P. vivax—were endemic in the country. 30% of the population in the 1920s are said to have suffered from malaria caused by the P. vivax malaria species.
Georgia experienced a significant reduction in malaria cases after the launch of a control programme in 1940 through improved access to diagnostic and treatment facilities.
Read Also: WHO regrets US decision to withdraw, urges reconsideration
“A few years later, however, World War II caused a surge again due to population movement and the strain on health facilities.”
“In the post-war period, 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 P. falciparum by 1953, P. malariae by 1960, and P. vivax by 1970.”
“Georgia remained malaria-free for 25 years, but by 2002, malaria had reemerged in the country with 474 cases reported.”
Georgia joined 9 other countries in the WHO European Region in 2015 to sign the Tashkent Declaration, reinforcing their commitment to eliminate malaria.
In 2009, the country witnessed a reduction in incidence following intensified interventions, and then in 2015, 53 countries of the WHO European Region, including Georgia, reported zero indigenous cases of malaria.
“To prevent further re-establishment of malaria transmission in the region, the original signatories of the Tashkent Declaration issued the Ashgabat Statement in 2017 committing to take all efforts to remain malaria-free. Türkiye is the only country in the WHO European Region remaining to be certified.”
“In 2024, during Georgia’s malaria-free certification process, members of the Technical Advisory Group on Malaria Elimination and Certification, an independent WHO advisory body, noted that Georgia has a well-functioning and adequately resourced health system, strong public-private cooperation, and political commitment to maintaining a malaria-free status,” the document noted.
