Context: El Salvador has become the first country in central America to get malaria-free certificate from World Health Organization (WHO).
Key highlights

• Malaria elimination certificate is awarded to a country when the chain of indigenous transmission of the disease has been disrupted nationwide for at least three consecutive years.
• El Salvador didn’t report a single case of malaria that was acquired locally (indigenous) since 2017.
• The only other countries in the WHO Regions of Americas to have eliminated malaria in recent years are Paraguay (2018) and Argentina (2019).

Malaria

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites (Plasmodium) transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Most deaths are caused by P. falciparum, whereas P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae generally cause a milder form of malaria.
• It is preventable and curable.
• Symptoms: Fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches.
• In severe cases, it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death.

Data related to Malaria

• The disease is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions around the equator.
• This includes much of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• Annually, over 200 million cases of malaria are reported across the world and more than 400,000 people die of the disease.

Half the global malaria-related deaths in 2019 were in six African countries:

1. Nigeria (23 per cent)
2. Democratic Republic of the Congo
3. Tanzania
4. Burkina Faso
5. Mozambique
6. Niger.

According to World Malaria Report 2020, In India, the malaria infections fell by 14.4 million between 2000 and 2019 — the largest reduction in South-East Asia.

• In 2019, India accounted for about 86 per cent of all malaria deaths in the South-East Asia.

Key Fact

• India under the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (2016-2030) has set a target to eliminate malaria by 2030.
• World Health Organisation has set 20230 as the global deadline to eradicate Malaria.

Location of El Salvador

• El Salvador is a country in Central America.
• It is bordered by Honduras, Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean.
• Capital and largest city: San Salvador.
• It is the smallest and second-least populated country in Central America.