Malaria could be eradicated in eight Latin American countries

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WHO states it affected 214 million people worldwide and caused 438,000 deaths in 2015.

 

Malaria could be eradicated in eight Latin American countries by 2020, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) published on Monday, the World Malaria Day.

One of the objectives of the WHO’s Plan Against Malaria 2016-2030 is to eradicate the disease in at least 10 countries by 2020.

WHO estimates that 21 countries could be able to achieve this goal, including eight Latin American countries, namely Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Suriname.

Malaria, a disease that causes fever, headache, chills and vomiting, affected 214 million people worldwide and caused 438,000 deaths in 2015, according to the UN agency.

Currently, this life-threatening condition caused by a mosquito bite, strikes mainly sub-Saharan Africa, where 72 % of cases and 88 % of malaria deaths were registered in 2015.

Mortality rates due to malaria have dropped by 72 percent in the Americas region since 2000.

AFP Geneva