With no recorded cases since 2017, the archipelago has had a long journey to become free of the disease, which killed 608,000 people globally in 2022
Cape Verde has become the fourth country in Africa and the 44th in the world to eliminate malaria.
Africa has the highest number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the world. In 2022, 94% of the 249 million cases globally and 95% of deaths were recorded on the continent.
Algeria, Morocco and Mauritius were certified malaria-free in 2019, 2010 and 1973 respectively.
Cape Verde regularly experienced severe epidemics across all the archipelago’s 10 islands. However, since the 1980s, malaria had been confined to only two islands, Santiago and Boa Vista, both of which have not recorded cases since 2017.
great news, but 6+ years of not having any cases of a disease that is spread by mosquitos - in an environment that is ideal for mosquitos to breed in - is a bit of a hollow victory. maybe check back in 44 years.