Mosquito Aedes Aegypti. Photo Credit: Renato Augusto Bezerra/Getty Images

Health El Salvador11. March 2021

This Country Is Now Malaria-Free – a Regional First!

Following years of commitment and hard work from government, organizations, and communities alike, El Salvador becomes the first Central American country to be officially malaria-free.

“We’re feeling like big winners,” says Godofredo Mendez Cruz, head of the spraying unit at the Ministry of Health. “I want to encourage everyone to continue working with everything within our reach to […] keep this contagion away from the population. We’ve gone through tough moments and through beautiful moments over the last 30 years. It’s an achievement that satisfies us all.”

The last local case registered was in 2016. In order to tackle this public health problem, efforts were made to eradicate the mosquito that transmits the disease and to test and trace the population, including migrant workers at the borders. An army of 2,700 volunteers contributed to the elimination of malaria in El Salvador so the country would get its health back, for the sake of Salvadoran families and its overall development.

Source:
Global Fund

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