The World Health Organization has confirmed that Belize is free of malaria

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that Belize is free of malaria, after more than 70 years of continuous efforts by the country to eradicate the disease.

“WHO congratulates the people and government of Belize and their network of global and local partners on this achievement,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Belize is another example of how, with the right tools and the right approach, we can dream of a malaria-free future.”

With today’s announcement, in total 42 countries and 1 territory WHO has confirmed that it is free of malaria, including 11 countries in the Americas region.

“Following the success of Paraguay, Argentina and El Salvador, Belize today becomes the fourth country in the Americas and the second in Central America to be certified malaria-free in the past 5 years,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Pan American Health. Director of the organization (PAHO). “This is a remarkable achievement for Belize and will serve as an inspiration for other endemic countries in the Americas.”

Effective investment in malaria control

Over the past 3 decades, Belize has achieved a dramatic reduction in its malaria burden – from a peak of around 10,000 cases in 1994 to zero domestic cases in 2019. Belize’s success has depended on strong malaria surveillance, access to diagnosis and effective vector control methods including nets against mosquitoes treated with insecticides and spraying insecticides indoors. Trained community health workers played a vital role in timely diagnosis and treatment.

In 2015, Belize realigned its malaria program to place greater focus on enhanced surveillance among high-risk populations, allowing for strategic targeting of interventions and available resources in priority areas. Belize has continued its malaria surveillance efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and has made efforts to integrate malaria and COVID-19 surveillance systems.

Cooperation at the national, regional and global level

A long-standing partnership between the national malaria program and the Belize Vector Ecology Center provided entomological surveillance, which provided key information on the distribution and density of malaria-carrying mosquitoes and their resistance to insecticides used in malaria control. Cross-border cooperation with neighboring Mexico and Guatemala was also a key to success.

Belize has participated in regional and subregional initiatives to keep malaria at the forefront of the public health agenda, such as Malaria Elimination in Central America and on the Island of Hispaniola, with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Regional Malaria Elimination Initiativean initiative initiated by the Inter-American Development Bank with the technical leadership of PAHO and the participation of the Central American Council of Ministers of Health.

With support from USAID, PAHO provided technical cooperation during the malaria campaign in Belize. This success in Belize contributes PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative which aims to eliminate more than 30 infectious diseases, including malaria, in the Americas by 2030. Belize is also a member initiative “E-2025”. – a group of countries identified by the WHO as having the potential to eliminate malaria by 2025.

Belize is the third country to be granted the status of a malaria-free country in 2023, after certificates of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan in March.

Note to the editor

Malaria-free WHO certificate

A certificate of malaria elimination is the WHO’s official recognition of a country’s malaria-free status. Certification is awarded when a country demonstrates—with rigorous, credible evidence—that there is a chain of indigenous malaria transmission Anopheles mosquito control has been discontinued throughout the country for at least the last three consecutive years.

In addition, a national surveillance system capable of rapidly detecting and responding to all malaria cases must be operational, along with an effective program to prevent the re-establishment of the disease.

The final decision on the granting of a certificate of freedom from malaria is made by the Director-General of WHO, based on the recommendation of the independent Technical Advisory Group for the Elimination and Certification of Malaria. For more information on WHO’s malaria-free certification process, visit this link.