CABO VERDE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Places in news)

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Cabo Verde (also known as Cape Verde) as a malaria-free country, becoming the third country to acquire the status in the global health organisation’s African region.    

Cabo Verde

• About: It is an archipelago and island country of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean
• Bordered by: Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal.
• Comprise: Ten volcanic islands with a combined land area.
• Capital: Santiago

Malaria

• About: It is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected femaleAnopheles mosquitoes.

oAfrica has the highest malaria burden and accounted for roughly 95 per cent of global malaria cases and 96 per cent of related deaths in 2021.

• Two Other Malaria Free Countries: Mauritius and Algeria.

WHO’s Certification

• WHO’s certification of Cabo Verde being malaria-free is testament to the power of strategic public health planning, collaboration, and sustained effort to protect and promote health
• The certification is WHO’s official recognition of a country’s malaria-free status. 
• It is granted after a country has demonstrated, using rigorous, credible evidence, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been disrupted nationwide for at least three consecutive years. 
• A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission.