Georgia: Malaria-free certification ‘a huge milestone worth marking’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The country of Georgia has been certified malaria-free following a nearly century-long fight to combat the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday. 

It now joins 45 countries and one territory that have achieved this milestone.

“Today we congratulate the people of Georgia for their decades of targeted and sustained actions to eliminate malaria, one of the world’s leading killers,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General. 

About WHO certification

Malaria is spread by some types of mosquitoes and is mostly found in tropical countries. The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person. The disease is both preventable and curable.

Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening, Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache, while severe ones include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing. 

WHO certifies a country as malaria-free after it has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years.

Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said Georgia’s achievement “is a huge milestone worth marking” as it brings Europe another step closer to being certified as the first malaria-free region in the world.

“This doesn’t happen in a vacuum, this was made possible thanks to sustained investment, dedication of the health workforce and targeted efforts in prevention, early detection and effective treatment of all malaria cases,” he said.

A long battle

Malaria has plagued Georgia since ancient times, WHO noted.

Before the introduction of systematic control efforts in the early 1900s, at least three malaria parasite species – P. falciparum, P. malariae and P. vivax – were endemic there. In the 1920s, roughly 30 per cent of the population suffered from malaria caused by the P. vivax malaria species.

By 1940, large-scale mosquito control programmes had helped reduce malaria cases significantly through improved access to diagnostic and treatment facilities. However, the Second World War caused cases to surge again due to population movement and the strain on health facilities. 

During the post-war period, Georgia launched an intensive programme focused on eliminating malaria, using newer medicines, insecticide spraying and robust entomological surveillance. The campaign successfully interrupted the transmission of P. falciparum by 1953, P. malariae by 1960 and P. vivax by 1970. 

The country remained malaria-free for 25 years, but by 2002 the disease had reemerged, with 474 cases reported.

Renewed commitment

In 2005, Georgia and nine other countries in the WHO European Region signed the Tashkent Declaration, reaffirming its pledge to eliminate malaria. 

The intensified interventions that followed significantly reduced malaria incidence in Georgia, with the last indigenous case recorded in 2009. By 2015, all 53 countries of the WHO European Region, including Georgia, reported zero indigenous cases.

To prevent further re-establishment of malaria transmission in the region, the original signatories of the Tashkent Declaration issued the Ashgabat Statement in 2017, committing to take all efforts to remain malaria-free. 

Türkiye is the only country in the WHO European Region still to be certified.