Cape Verde is the third African country to eliminate malaria : here’s how

Abstract

Cape Verde has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). The archipelago to the west of Senegal consists of 10 islands, and has a population of over 500 000 people. It is the third country in Africa to be declared malaria-free, after Mauritius (in 1973) and Algeria (in 2019). This brings the total of malaria-free countries to 43 worldwide. Achieving malaria-free certification is no simple feat. As specialists in malaria prevention and control, we explain Cape Verde’s long journey to eliminating the disease that killed over 600 000 people worldwide in 2022.