The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Cabo Verde also called Cape Verde as a malaria-free country, marking a significant achievement in global health. With this announcement, Cabo Verde joins the ranks of 43 countries and 1 territory that WHO has awarded this certification.

Cabo Verde is the third country to be certified in the WHO African region, joining Mauritius and Algeria which were certified in 1973 and 2019 respectively. Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounted for approximately 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of related deaths in 2021.

Certification of malaria elimination will drive positive development on many fronts for Cabo Verde.  Systems and structures built for malaria elimination have strengthened the health system and will be used to fight other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. Travellers from non-malaria endemic regions can now travel to the islands of Cabo Verde without fear of local malaria infections and the potential inconvenience of preventive treatment measures. This has the potential to attract more visitors and boost socio-economic activities in a country where tourism accounts for approximately 25 per cent of GDP.

“I salute the government and people of Cabo Verde for their unwavering commitment and resilience in their journey to eliminating malaria,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “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. Cabo Verde’s success is the latest in the global fight against malaria, and gives us hope that with existing tools, as well as new ones including vaccines, we can dare to dream of a malaria-free world.”