It now joins 45 countries and one territory that have reached this milestone.
“Today, we congratulate the people of Georgia for their decades of focused and sustained action to eliminate malaria, one of the world’s leading killers,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
About WHO certification
Malaria is spread by certain types of mosquitoes and is found mainly in tropical countries. The infection is caused by a parasite and is not spread from person to person. The disease is both preventable and curable.
Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening. Mild symptoms include fever, chills and headache, while severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures and difficulty breathing.
The WHO certifies a country as malaria-free after it has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that transmission has been interrupted nationally for at least three consecutive years.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said Georgia’s achievement “is an important milestone worth marking” as it brings Europe closer to becoming the first region free of malaria in the world.
“This doesn’t happen in a vacuum; This has been made possible through sustained investment, dedication of health personnel and targeted efforts in prevention, early detection and effective treatment of all cases of malaria,” he said.
A long battle
Malaria has plagued Georgia since ancient times, the WHO noted.
Before the introduction of systematic control efforts in the early 1900s, at least three species of malaria parasites – P. falciparum, P. malariae And P. vivax – were endemic there. In the 1920s, about 30 percent of the population suffered from malaria caused by P. vivax species of malaria.
As early as 1940, large-scale mosquito control programs had helped significantly reduce malaria cases through improved access to diagnostic and treatment facilities. However, World War II caused a further increase in cases due to population movements and pressure on healthcare facilities.
During the postwar period, Georgia launched an intensive program to eliminate malaria, using new drugs, insecticide spraying, and rigorous entomological surveillance. The campaign succeeded in interrupting the transmission of P. falciparum in 1953, P. malaria around 1960 and P. vivax around 1970.
The country remained malaria-free for 25 years, but by 2002 the disease had re-emerged, with 474 cases reported.
A renewed commitment
In 2005, Georgia and nine other countries in the WHO European Region signed the Tashkent Declaration, reaffirming their commitment to eliminating malaria.
Subsequent intensified interventions significantly reduced malaria incidence in Georgia, with the last indigenous case recorded in 2009. In 2015, all 53 countries in the WHO European Region, including Georgia, had no reported no indigenous cases.
To prevent further recovery of malaria transmission in the region, the original signatories of the Tashkent Declaration issued the Ashgabat Declaration in 2017, pledging to make every effort to remain malaria-free.
Turkey is the only country in the WHO European Region not yet certified.
