Suriname was the first country in the Amazon area to extract malaria disease and has for that The ‘Malaria -free’ certificate received from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“This historical milestone follows a dedication of the Surinamese government and population to eliminate the disease at almost seventy years,” writes the WHO in a press release. “The determination of Suriname to commit to equality in the field of health is a source of inspiration for all countries that strive for a future without malaria.”
Malaria is an infectious disease that is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes and can lead to fever, muscle pain and headache or even death. Suriname has shown that since September 2021 no malaria cases have arisen in Surinamese territory and meets the conditions for ‘reasonably preventing’ that the disease is re -advancing.
Seventy years of malaria control
The efforts of Suriname to eradicate malaria started as early as the 50s of the last century. At the time, pesticides were mainly sprayed indoors. When the densely populated coastal areas were largely malaria -free, attention shifted to the indigenous communities in the rain forests in the interior.
The last source of cases of disease were remote mine areas where many labor migrants from other countries in the region work, where malaria is still endemic.
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According to the WHO, the fact that the situation is now under control is mainly due to the years of efforts to reach those remote areas. “It means that future generations can grow up without this potentially fatal disease,” says Jarbas Barbosa director of the regional WHO office for the Americas.
In total, 46 countries worldwide now have the ‘malaria -free’ certificate. In Suriname there have only been imports of gold diggers and holidaymakers from neighboring countries and travelers from Africa and Asia in recent years. The country says it will stay alert to that.