Cape Verde will host the latest WHO technical team for malaria-free certification next week, in a process in which it wants to “speak with one voice,” the health minister said this Friday.
“We are in the very important process of certifying Cape Verde as malaria free. This is a very long and difficult process, it is a process in which, if we succeed, we will take a giant step.” , said Filomena Gonçalves after visiting some areas of the city of Praia where there are known mosquito outbreaks.
The minister said that a World Health Organization (WHO) technical assessment team would arrive in the country on June 12 to conduct the last of the seven steps in the process to see if the country is in a position to achieve the malaria (or malaria) free country certification it hopes to achieve in this year.
Despite the absence of local transmission of malaria for five years (21 imported cases were reported last year), he stressed that the disease is the main cause of death on the African continent, and Cape Verde has daily links with countries where malaria is indigenous. disease. disease. .
The minister said the visits are taking place when the country is about to start the rainy season and serve to show that Cape Verde still faces many challenges, be it institutional, individual, as well as sanitation and wastewater treatment.
“We must join forces, be together, but we need to expand these efforts, we must speak with a single voice about this certification,” Filomena Gonçalves urged in statements to journalists at the end of her visit to Fontone. area, passing through Lem Ferreira and Varzea.
The Minister said that this is a multisectoral process involving other institutions and partners, especially WHO, which has always been by the side of the country in addressing this issue, which, as she emphasized, is related to the health security in the country.
“This is a process that we must be aware of, the whole country, everyone must accept this cause so that we can overcome this great challenge. To overcome this challenge, the behavior of every person, every inhabitant of Cape Verde, every visitor, every resident, is very important, in terms of behavior, in terms of sanitation,” also turned to the same source.
The country has a National Malaria Control Program and a strategic plan to strengthen vector control (larval control, spraying campaigns, environmental measures and management), epidemiological surveillance (detection, investigation and mandatory reporting of cases), patient care (diagnosis and treatment), communication and social mobilization.
According to WHO, there were about 247 million new cases of malaria in 2021 compared to 245 million in 2020, with 95% of cases and 96% of deaths occurring in the African region.
According to the latest World Malaria Report, published in December 2022, about 619,000 people died from malaria in 2021, up from 625,000 in 2020.
Malaria, a curable disease transmitted from person to person through the bite of an infected mosquito, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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