On Oct. 20, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it had certified Egypt as malaria-free, marking a significant public health milestone for a country with more than 100 million inhabitants. The achievement follows a nearly 100-year effort by the Egyptian government and people to end a disease that has been present in the country since ancient times.

Egypt is the third country to be awarded a malaria-free certification in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, and the first since 2010. Globally, a total of 44 countries and 1 territory have reached this milestone.

Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years. A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission.

By 1942, malaria cases in Egypt had spiked to more than 3 million as a result of the Second World War population displacement, the disruption of medical supplies and services, and the invasion of Anopheles arabiensis, a highly efficient mosquito vector, among other factors. Egypt succeeded in controlling the malaria outbreak through the establishment of 16 treatment divisions and the recruitment of more than 4000 health workers.

The construction of the Aswan Dam, completed in 1969, created a new malaria risk for the country, as standing water produced breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Egypt, in collaboration with Sudan, launched a rigorous vector control and public health surveillance project to rapidly detect and respond to malaria outbreaks.

By 2001, malaria was firmly under control and the Ministry of Health and Population set its sights on preventing the re-establishment of local malaria transmission. Egypt rapidly contained a small outbreak of malaria cases in the Aswan Governorate in 2014 through early case identification, prompt treatment, vector control and public education.

Malaria diagnosis and treatment are provided free-of-charge to the entire population in Egypt regardless of legal status, and health professionals are trained nationwide to detect and screen for malaria cases including at borders. Egypt’s strong cross-border partnership with neighbouring countries, including Sudan, has been instrumental for preventing the re-establishment of local malaria transmission, paving the way for the country to be officially certified as malaria-free.